


Twisted

by Natterina



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon diverges at Hollow Bastion, Darkness causes angst in them all, Gen, M/M, Post-Kingdom Hearts I, Romance, mentions of Terraqua
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-10-18 04:37:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10609416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natterina/pseuds/Natterina
Summary: Ventus isn’t certain of much at this point, but he does know that the boy, the one whose heart had offered him shelter, has lost himself to the darkness.AU where Ansem takes over Sora's heart at Hollow Bastion.





	1. Chapter 1

It changes when Maleficent sends the possessed Riku to deal with the trio barging their way through the castle, instead of dealing with them herself.

The battle goes as smoothly as Ansem can hope, though the brat with the keyblade is more powerful than he looks, and impatience wins out when he summons Maleficent and unlocks her heart anyway.

But _something_ about the fight with Sora brings the other brat to consciousness within him, and once that happens he feels the young boy fighting him with every ounce of strength he has. By the time the second battle comes around, Ansem is losing control _fast_.

“What have you done with Riku! Give him his heart back!”

Something about those words sends a primal surge of anger through him, which he knows to attribute to the hot-headed brat who had given up his body in the first place. Their battle is much more unevenly balanced, with Ansem trying to fight _and_ wrestle control of the body he is possessing, and he knows that if he’d just let Maleficent fight Sora the first time _this wouldn’t be happening_.

And so he retreats to the shadows when Sora knocks the keyblade out of his hand, and smirks when he feels the other brat feeling smug inside. Because he’s got a plan, one that even Riku cannot count on.

Riku wants control of his body? Ansem will give it to him.

And Riku can feel it, the control being relinquished back to him: it is like he is swimming through the ocean and trying to break the surface, but it remains just that little bit further than he imagined. He is forced to watch as Sora plunges the keyblade into his chest, and he stares in horror as not one, not two, but _three_ spheres of light erupt from his heart and hover there, uncertain. The first flies over to Kairi and disappears into her chest, and the young woman opens her eyes just as Riku breaks _free_ , splashing through the surface and stumbling to the ground.

At the same moment, what _looks_ like a blast of dark firaga rockets towards Sora’s body as he stands uneasy on his feet, face warped in agony but eyes locked on the two hearts above him. Riku staggers forwards, swaying on his feet and shocked because _he did not cast that_ , and he feels the horror in his gut as he realises the truth. He hasn’t broken free of Ansem: Ansem has left him in favour of an easier target.

The ball of dark magic consumes Sora’s body just as Kairi and Riku reach it. Black tendrils wrap around him and pull, and the two spheres of light above them merge into one. They watch in surprise, and a bit of fear, as the one orb floats upwards, far out of their reach. It hits the ceiling and then passes through, and Riku plants his hand over his mouth in terror because what has he _done_?

The laugh that rings out through the room is far too familiar to him, and Riku feels the weight of his heart breaking at the sight of _Sora_ in that ridiculous get up as the black tendrils fade. His pupils glow gold as he smirks at Riku, and the true weight of it sinks in.

In that split second of Sora’s heart leaving his body, Ansem has taken it over and prevented his heart from returning. He has a body without any of the resistance Riku was giving him, and Sora’s form warps before them into the _true_ image of Ansem.

The keyblade is picked back up and aimed at them, and Riku steps in front of Kairi to protect her. But, before Ansem can swing it, he is stopped in his tracks by a projection of Sora that sends Riku’s head spinning.

He no longer knows what the _fuck_ is going on.

“What? Again? This is impossible!” Ansem’s words are incredulous and full of an anger that is years old, but Riku can only stare at the golden form before them.

But there is Sora, half-transparent and _struggling_ , and he looks over at Riku and Kairi with a pleading look on his face.

“ _Go_! I can’t hold him for much longer!”

"No, I won't leave you behind!"

"Riku  _go_. It's not me, and he'll kill you! Please,  _go_!"

He nods once, teal eyes meeting blue-tinged-gold, and Riku grabs Kairi by her upper arm and _drags_ her, desperately trying not to sob at the situation as he bodily hauls her out of Hollow Bastion with Donald and Goofy on his heels. When she stops at the sight of the tiny heartless and hugs it, Riku remains unsurprised when it disappears into nothing, but he still has to grab her by the waist and throw her over his shoulder.

She fights him, fingers clawing at his arms until they bleed, desperate to go back and insistent that _Sora_ is okay, but Riku _knows_ otherwise. It might be Sora’s body, but his heart took off alongside the unknown _third_ heart.

He all but throws her into the gummi ship parked at the bottom of Rising Falls, and Kairi slumps into the chair, teary and defeated. He motions for the other two to get in, but Donald picks that moment to start a fight.

“We gotta go back for Sora!”

“He’s not _there_!”

The staff comes out, and Donald whacks him around his shins with it. Riku resists the urge to kick him off into the water and see how he swims, and instead points at the horde of heartless following them.

“This isn’t difficult to _get_! He’s not there; if you go back Ansem _will kill you_.”

“No! We can still save him-“

“Get in the damned ship, you overgrown _pigeon_ -“

Goofy stands between them, one hand catching Donald’s staff as he swings it again and bringing the duck to a halt.

“We gotta get out of here!”

Riku looks at the angry duck and takes his chances, picking up the feathered beast by his collar and throwing him into the gummi ship before he can react. He shares an understanding nod with Goofy, before he takes the pilot seat.

Riku wedges himself between Donald and Kairi, and wonders if he’ll get off this ship alive.

* * *

He comes into consciousness slowly.

He feels as though he’s trapped behind something and had cotton balls shoved into his mouth; everything is wrong and his mind is moving too slowly, like a lazy morning waking up to the sunshine. Something warm is balled up inside of him, soft and round and _pushing_ , but his eyelids feel far too heavy to open. He tries to command them to open, but when he does the light is so bright that he immediately feels like he’s had sandpaper rubbed on his eyeballs, and _damn_ if that’s unpleasant.

So he lifts an arm to cover his eyes as he tries to open them again, but his arm feels heavy and dull as though he’s spent the night laying on it. It’s an odd sensation, as though his brain is telling his body to do something but his body is taking its time to actually _do_ it. He is slow to move, but he  _pushes_.

Ventus breaks through with a gasp, his body finally catching up, and he scrambles to his feet before falling to his knees. He takes a moment to steady himself, a thousand questions running through his mind, the first of which is _where am I_?

He lifts himself up onto his hands and knees and looks around the room, and forces himself to admit that he has _no_ idea where he is. It’s a round, circular room with high ceilings and Terra’s sigil painted all over the white walls, but he doesn’t recognise it and the lack of a door and windows is unnerving.

He wonders where Aqua and Terra are as he clambers to his feet, and _that_ is when his most recent memories come back and all but smack him in the face. He vaguely remembers asking Aqua to end him, attacking her at Vanitas’ will, but the rest after that is a blur. He remembers reaching out to a golden light, one that welcomed him in as though he were coming home.

As for Terra, he has no idea what has happened to him: he knows Terra had gone after Xehanort, but he thinks that Vanitas had already overtaken him by the time that fight had finished.

Ventus walks around the room in a heavy fog of confusion, one hand to the wall as he tries to find an exit, and feels his legs shaking horribly beneath him. He wonders how long he has been here, that his body feels so weak and shaky, and wonders what has been going on in the outside world.

What had happened to the place he’d been sleeping in, that warm and safe cocoon that had helped him to heal? Had he been healing _inside_ someone’s heart?

If he had, then why is he awake? Why does he feel _cold_?

Ventus isn’t certain of much at this point, but he _does_ know that the boy, the one whose heart had offered him shelter, has lost himself to the darkness.

* * *

Riku’s skulking in the alley when Kairi comes out to find him. He doesn’t feel welcome in the secret passages and in Merlin’s hideout, and rightly so he supposes. He _did_ try to kill their hero, and now it’s _his_ fault that Sora has been possessed by Ansem.

He’s been given a swift reality check the last few days. He has always known, since he was still a pre-teen, that he is in love with Sora, but Riku has always been an arrogant boy with a cocksure attitude, and he is paying for it now. Never, in his wildest dreams, would he have ever imagined he could fall so far, cause so much _harm_ to someone he loves. He is mortified and horrified, and each time he closes his eyes he finds the memory of sky-blue eyes flashing gold. It is burned into his brain, a nightmare he cannot escape, and it is all so _wrong_.

Riku had been spinning out of control down a wild and lonely path, and he knows now how stupid of him it was to dabble in the darkness so recklessly, to allow Ansem a foothold in his heart. Even now, the darkness lurks on the edge of his periphery, a presence that is always there but never quite visible.

So there he is, leaning against the alley wall with his hands pressed to his face, desperately trying to erase the image of gold pupils and a wicked grin that looked so wrong on Sora’s face. He’s there, his heart breaking and full of remorse and guilt at what he’s done to his best friend and the boy he loves, when Kairi comes out and stands next to him. She leans against the wall, both palms flat against the brickwork, and stares at the floor between them.

They are silent for a few minutes, before the breeze picks up and Kairi huddles closer, leaning her head against Riku’s upper arm for comfort and warmth. Her arm comes up to loop through his bent elbow, and she gives a gentle sigh.

“Are you gonna go save him?”

Riku spreads his fingers to look through them at Kairi, before he removes his hands from his face and crosses them defiantly over his chest.

“Of course I am. I just don’t know _how_. What have I _done_?”

Kairi lifts her head to look at him, and he flinches because there is no anger or fear in her gaze, only pity. She truly does have a heart full of light, because Riku is not sure he would be so forgiving if the situation were reversed.

“You made some bad choices, Riku, but it’s not your fault, not really. None of us could have known this would happen.” She puts her head back on his arm, and heaves a heavier sigh. “And you can bring him back, I know you can.”

“But what if killing Ansem kills Sora? Or if we can’t find him?” There is a panic to Riku’s voice, as though every second brings down the painful truth upon him again. The fear clogs his throat and shortens his breath, and it feels as if even saying Sora’s name is a difficulty. Kairi stands up properly, no longer leaning against him or the wall, and takes his hand in her own.

“You can do it. Just follow your heart, and you’ll find him.” Her smile is all too knowing, and he wonders if perhaps this is why she forgives him so easily. Kairi has always been too observant for them to catch up.

“How did you know?”

She reaches her hand out, her smile soft, and tucks a stray piece of his hair behind his ear.

“Oh, _please_. I grew up with you guys, I know all of your tells.” And with that, she pulls one of his arms to free his hands, and clasps his left in both of her own.

“Now go, and bring him home. I want _both_ of you home, or I’m gonna come after you!”

* * *

If there had ever been a moment where Riku wished he could travel back in time and _throttle_ himself, it’s now.

It’s now, when he stands opposite Sora, Ansem long gone and banished to the darkness, when Riku wants to smack his younger self senseless with the wooden sword. Because he can admit to himself that he is in love with Sora, and he can admit to himself that everything he has done in the last three months has been an utter mess of shitty decisions and an inability to realise he was being manipulated.

But this, trying to _close the door to darkness_ on his best friend, really takes the cake. Sora is standing opposite him, alive and fairly conscious for a boy without a heart, with one hand on the door, and Riku really wonders how this possibly could have gotten any worse. Somehow, he’d had the insane idea that Sora possessed by Ansem had actually been rock bottom.

_Ha._

“I’m not closing this on you!”

“Riku, you have to! I’ll come back for you, I promise!”

_Not good enough_ , Riku thinks bitterly. They are separated only by the door itself, Riku leaning against it with one shoulder and Sora pulling at it with two hands. They are separated only by a barrier that the King claims is there, and Riku knows that even if Sora could leave, the door needs to be closed by someone on both sides. He groans, unwilling to bow even to Sora’s heart-wrenching gaze, for he cannot and will not lock his best friend in the Realm of Darkness. Sora breathes heavily as he pulls at the door, and the breath tickles Riku’s nose.

He pauses.

If Sora has no heart, then _surely_ the rule of ‘no heart of light can pass through’ doesn’t really apply to him, Riku surmises. He reckons he has just enough darkness in his own heart to cross through from this side, _if_ the same rule applies to entering the realm.

“Sora.” Just saying his name is enough for Sora to stop tugging desperately at the door, and Riku reaches out for him. His hand slides along Sora’s neck and into his hair, and despite his lack of a heart Sora stills, his breath hitching in anticipation. Riku leans forward and brushes their lips together, a gentle kiss that acts as the distraction he needs. Sora’s hands move to fist in the fabric at his chest, and Riku presses a firmer kiss to Sora’s lips before he pulls away. The door is closing fast, the opening barely enough to squeeze through.

“I’m sorry.”

Riku grabs at one of the hands trying to curl into his shirt and _pulls_ at a harsh angle, hard enough to sprain Sora’s wrist as he pulls the other boy through the gap with all of his strength. Before Sora can so much as retaliate, Riku slips through it with ease.

“Riku, _no!_ You can’t do this-“

“I have to, Sora. You don’t deserve to have to live with _my_ mistakes!”

And Riku yanks at the door, eager to pull it shut before Sora can reverse their positions again, but it is _Donald_ who stops him from doing so. The duck pulls Sora from the door as Goofy continues to push, and the last thing Riku sees before the door closes is a look of betrayal and grief on Sora’s face.

The last thing he hears is Sora screaming, a hollow sound that muffles as the door slams shut and disappears.

The Realm of Darkness is silent.

* * *

He’s been in the chamber for twenty-three days when the door finally appears.

At least, Ventus thinks it’s been twenty-three days. It seems like it has at least, and he’s been marking the white walls with his keyblade to mark the days, but with no windows and no natural light source it’s difficult to tell.

Wherever he is, however, it’s far too strange for him to comprehend. He had panicked, by the third day, when he realised he had no water and no food, but that panic soon stopped when he realised he wasn’t thirsty, and his stomach was not crying out for food. In the twenty-three days since Ventus has woken up, he has had no urge to go to the toilet, no urge to eat or drink, and sleep remains elusive.

And then the door appears.

There is no fanfare, no bright flash of light or the sound of voices on the other side. The room is deadly quiet, as it always is, silent enough that sometimes he can hear his heart beating in his ears. The door is not there one moment, and then the next it is. Ventus isn’t sure how long it’s been there, he only knows that one moment he is sitting on the floor fiddling with his wayfinder, and the next he stands up to stretch his legs and his eyes fall on the door.

It’s a tiny door, considering the size of the room he’s in. It’s roughly two metres in height, and Ventus reckons that Terra would smack his head trying to get through it. The handle is small, and the sigils flash an array of colours, but it _is_ an exit.

Ventus looks around, not entirely certain he is not being watched, and heads through it, exiting into the white marble corridor.

* * *

“What an unfortunate turn of events.”

Axel, in a world of his own since Marluxia’s half-incoherent rant hours earlier, raises a brow in the direction of his pink haired colleague.

“Hmm?”

“The keyblade bearer possesses no heart.”

_That_ pulls him out of it: Axel unfolds his arms and turns to look at Marluxia, his lips turned down in a frown.

“That’s impossible.”

“And yet, it _is_.”

“If he doesn’t have a heart, he’d be a nobody. Which he can’t be, because Roxas…” Axel trails off as Marluxia smirks.

“Ah, a mystery to be solved.” Marluxia pulls his hair behind his head, holding it in place as he pulls his hood up and zips his coat up as far as it can go.

Axel watches him as he leaves in his _ridiculous_ dramatic flourish, half expecting a bouquet to appear in his hands as he does, and allows his frown to deepen.

Things are turning _weird_. First, Marluxia drags him off into a side room the moment he steps out of the dark corridor to tell him that they need to turn traitor, because Xemnas is planning on using them as clone vessels (at least, Axel _thinks_ that is what Marluxia was talking about), and now he’s being sent on a wild-goose chase for a non-existent room, whilst the keyblade bearer turns up without a heart.

Axel blows out his breath heavily between pursed lips, and wonders if he can convince Saix that they should be getting _paid_ for this shit.

* * *

Ventus hasn’t been wandering for too long, a couple of days at the most, when he bumps into another person in this huge castle.

And he means that literally, because he turns a corner and physically _walks_ into a much taller person, knocking him flat to the ground whilst he manages to stay on his feet.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Ventus leans down to offer the sprawled redhead on the floor a helping hand, but the redhead simply pushes himself up onto his hands and stares.

“ _Roxas_? What the hell are you doing here – why are you wearing those clothes?”

“Uh…” Ventus stands there, one hand reaching down into the empty air, with the most confused expression on his face. “Look, I’m really sorry, but my name isn’t Roxas.”

The silence hangs suspended in the air between them for a nearly a minute: it is quite possibly the most awkward minute of Ventus’ life.

“Oh _fuck_.”

For a reason Ventus cannot comprehend, a look of absolute dread crosses the redhead’s face as he pulls himself to his feet. But something about this man looks weirdly familiar, terrified expressions aside, and Ventus squints as he looks at the face. He imagines that hair, tries to picture the face without tattoos, and it _clicks_.

“Oh hey I know you! Your name’s Leah! See, I got it memorised!”

The dread is swapped out for mild irritation, and Axel grabs his upper arm.

“You did a shit job there kid, it was _Lea,_ you don’t say the ‘a’!” That look turns to panic, and Ventus yanks his arm back. “And _shit_ , this can’t be happening right now.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Shut up.”

Ventus closes his mouth, teeth clicking together, as Axel runs long fingers into his spiky hair and tugs at it sharply.

“Shit, _shit_.” Axel motions over at Ventus half-heartedly, stress on his face. “You, I’m supposed to be _finding_ you and handing you over. But you’re not supposed to look like that, like _him_. And _shit_ , I remember you. They’re gonna kill me for this: no way Zexion doesn’t know you’re here.”

Ventus stands there, his face a mixture of pity and confusion, because he knows that Lea is stressed over something, but what that is exactly he’s not sure.

“Erm, are you okay?”

“Do I look okay to you, kid?” Axel steps forwards, one hand out to grab at Ventus’ upper arm, but the other boy steps backwards with the instinct of years of training. His keyblade is in his hand and raised at Axel, and the redhead’s fingers bump off the smooth metal. He heaves a sigh, green eyes resting on the young blond before him who looks so _similar_ to Roxas. Axel wonders why that is.

“Look, kid, I’m not gonna fight you.”

“Why? You scared of losing?” Ventus’ words come out automatically, a smirk rising to his face as he says them, but the redhead stops in his tracks. In another life, he knows he had said those exact words to the boy before him, and Axel feels a nostalgic pang of pain for his lost youth. What else was it he had he said to Ventus, the blond double of his friend, who is technically powerless in this castle he has been hidden in for over a decade?

_After all, we’re friends now_. Yes, that had been it.

_Friends_. Axel smirks, still in an inner turmoil. He shouldn’t have the capacity to feel friendship, if Xemnas is right, but the twinge in his non-existent heart makes him wonder if there is truth to Marluxia’s words.

“ _Fine_. I’m not gonna fight you and I’m not going to hand you over. But I can’t just let you go either. You’re coming with me.” Axel grabs for him again and, this time, is successful. Before Ventus can pull away, Axel drags him by the scruff of his collar bodily into a dark corridor. It opens out in the lower levels of the basement, and Ventus catches a flash of silver as Axel pulls him out of it. The redhead whistles through his teeth as the dark corridor remains open.

“Ah look, another teenager who shouldn’t be here. Listen, O tragically conflicted boy from the darkness, I brought you a friend.”

Axel pushes Ventus forwards with enough force that he stumbles to his knees, and when the blond looks back the dark corridor is closing, and Axel is nowhere to be found. He groans, loudly, and clambers to his feet whilst brushing down dirt from his knees.

“Don’t move.”

And really, it’s just his luck that Ventus’ bright blue gaze lifts from the floor to find an elegant black and red keyblade pointed at his face.


	2. Castle Oblivion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this chapter is not very Sora-centric. I figured that his story would not change much if he is here as more of a lingering will type of character, and I wanted to build up Ven quite a bit.

Things had gone a bit skewed after the door had closed.

Sora remembers that brief minute of panicked screaming with a dull sense of reminiscence; to think of it now evokes no emotion in him, and his screaming had subsided the moment the door to darkness had closed. To think of Kairi, standing on a two-metre-wide stretch of sand as Destiny Islands reformed behind her, evokes no stirring in his chest, nor any sense of fear for her wellbeing.

Sora had, quite literally, all but switched off when the door was closed. Oh, but he is good at _faking_ it. He had greeted Donald and Goofy with a trademark grin and a laid-back attitude, but inside he feels as though his heart has been pulled out and pierced and then pushed back in upside down.

He spends the three weeks of the journey to Castle Oblivion with a worry in the pit of his stomach, uncaring in the face of it all. When he thinks of Riku, wandering the darkness without direction or protection, he feels a brief fear ignite in the empty space in his chest, but outside of it he is _numb_.

Sora spends his nights of those three weeks lying awake in his bedroll, two fingers pressed down hard on his pulse point, waiting for a heartbeat that doesn’t come.

He spends his nights trying to think of Riku’s face, to recall teal eyes on the opposite side of a door. He tries to recall the emotions that he _had_ felt, the moment chapped lips had connected with his own, but it feels as though he is swimming against the tide. Trying to summon the emotions is impossible, and it is made even worse by the fact that he doesn’t even get frustrated whilst doing so.

So when Sora finally meets Marluxia, hooded and cloaked and as empty a shell as he is himself, Sora runs out of his patience fast. He lasts less than two minutes in conversation before he snaps.

“Will you stop with the stupid riddles!”

“And now you’re beginning to act like you have a heart. How quaint. You are nothing more than a lingering will, a body acting out the wishes of a heart it no longer has.”

Something in Marluxia’s words stir an anger in Sora that won’t release him. He feels sick to his stomach with fury, and even without seeing his face he _knows_ Marluxia is smirking.

“ _Shut up!_ ”

“Yes, use that anger. Progress through Castle Oblivion with it, and see if you remember enough of yourself at the end to utilise it properly.”

And then Marluxia is gone through a portal Sora has only ever seen Riku use before, his riddles on forgetfulness and hearts still echoing through Sora’s mind. In frustration, he throws the keyblade hard in the general direction Marluxia had left in, but it bounces off the marble wall and falls to the ground with a pathetic clang off the floor.

Fitting, he thinks.

* * *

Riku doesn’t remember much of how he got to Castle Oblivion.

He remembers walking endlessly, with King Mickey by his side, until one moment they are together and the next he is on his knees on a barely-used path. It is like he has been tilted sideways and dropped onto the ground, but none of that matters in the immediate aftermath because there is _grass_ , and _stars_.

It is a reprieve from endless darkness and his own mistakes ringing around him, and so Riku willingly follows the path. He thinks of Sora as he wanders that path, Sora who had never shown any indication of feelings for Riku, but who had kissed him back desperately as Riku pressed their lips together.

He thinks of Sora, eyes glowing gold in the dim light of Hollow Bastion, with a wicked smirk so out of place the memory is physically jarring.

He reaches Castle Oblivion after a few hours of dark thoughts and twisted memories, and what Riku finds when he enters the castle is _awful_ : he feels the weight of his own heart pulling every which way, before _something_ unlocks the darkness within.  The dormant remnants of Ansem are pulled the surface, and Riku falls to his knees with his hands pressed hard on his ears as _that voice_ begins to whisper incessantly inside his head.

This is impossible, this _should_ be impossible, and yet Riku knows that voice as it curls around his ears and digs harsh fingers into his heart. Riku pulls at his hair, keyblade still clutched in his fingers, as he tries to be rid of that awful voice before it rings out again. Louder, this time, as though Ansem is right before him.

The tone of the voice changes as a corridor opens, a perfect oval of purple and midnight blue that stands out starkly against the bare white walls. The whistle that echoes around the room as a figure with bright red hair steps out of it grates against Riku’s nerves, and he lowers the hand with the keyblade in it, ready to strike.

“Ah look, another teenager who shouldn’t be here. Listen, O conflicted boy from the darkness, I brought you a friend.”

Riku watches as a blond teenager is shoved to the floor, falling awkwardly and scraping his hands along the marble as he lands. The redheaded man looks down at him briefly, an unreadable expression crossing his face, before he slips back into the corridor with a smirk.

Not willing to trust anything in this castle, Riku holds his keyblade steady, the tip merely inches away from the face of the boy before him.

“Don’t move.”

It’s a clear warning, but the blond looks up anyway, and Riku would be lying if he tried to say it wasn’t a jolt to the system. The boy _looks_ like Sora apart from the shock of blond hair, from his facial features right down to the bright blue eyes that stare up at _him_ in equal surprise.

Though, Riku thinks the shock might be because he’s holding a keyblade to his face.

That shock turns wide eyed and impressed a second later, and then _Riku_ begins to feel confused.

“A keyblade! Finally, someone who knows what’s going on!”

Riku does not, in fact, know what is going on. To his utter surprise, the blond boy completely ignores the fear he _should_ be feeling at seeing a keyblade pointed at his face and pushes himself to his feet. A look of excitement crosses his features as he analyses Riku’s keyblade, which has risen with him and is still aimed between his eyes.

The keyblade might as well be made of foam, for all it seems to bother the boy. He brushes dirt from the knees of his trousers, and then thrusts a hand out for Riku to take.

“Name’s Ventus, though my friends call me Ven.”

Riku’s eyes flicker down to the outstretched hand only once, before he ignores it and chooses to look straight at Ventus’ face instead. He’s had enough of trusting people who appear out of the blue; for all he knows this Ventus could be a trap laid by whoever lurks in this castle.

“Riku.” Is all he says, and Ventus retracts his hand without missing a beat, though his lips do twist into a frown.

“So… you wield a keyblade! Who do you train under? My friends and I trained under Master Eraqus-“

“Wait, wait. You can wield the keyblade?”

Riku is confused. Perhaps he should not be, for nothing Maleficent had ever told him has turned out to be true, but he was so certain that she was right in _this_. The witch had repeatedly told him that the keyblade could only ever have one true wielder, and _that_ was why he had to prove himself stronger than Sora. _That_ was why he had to take it from Sora, or else he would never be powerful enough to save Kairi.

“I thought there was only _one_ keyblade wielder.”

Riku kind of feels like a pawn on a chessboard, the more he thinks back on his interactions with that infernal witch.

Ventus’ eyebrows furrow in confusion, and he summons his keyblade in one swift movement. Riku stares at it: is it nothing like his own or the pretty and simple one that Sora wields. It is brown and black with what Riku can only describe as half of a _cog_ as the main part of the blade, and Ventus holds it strangely in comparison to himself.

“Who told you that? Of course there can be more than one keyblade wielder! It’s becoming a _master_ that’s the hard part. But there can be more than one of those, too. My friend is one!”

Riku’s eyes narrow the more that this Ventus boy speaks, but something shifts in his chest just inside of his heart, and Riku decides that perhaps he will trust this boy. Not completely, for that will take time and effort that Riku is not entirely certain he is willing to give, but enough to try to find a way out of this castle with him. And he will admit, quite readily, that there is something in his heart that recognises this trusting boy, a part that finds a familiarity in his heart that brushes away the remnants of Ansem and locks him tight into a corner that Riku cannot access.

“Look Ventus, I’m gonna try and find a way out of this castle. Are you with me?”

Something like disappointment flashes across the blond’s face.

“Wait, you don’t know where we are?”

“Not a damn clue.”

* * *

Zexion observes the ragtag pair with curiosity.

Not two, not three, but _four_ scents had caught his attention in the lower levels of the basement. By the time he had arrived, that count had reduced to three (though _how_ that double of Maleficent had appeared, he does not know), but the scent comes from the _two_ before him.

The silver haired boy smells faintly like their superior, a familiar scent of darkness resting in his bleeding heart, that stinks so strongly of despair that Zexion crinkles his nose in distaste. And the blond boy, within whom Zexion can detect _two_ hearts. Two hearts, alive and beating and so in tune that they are difficult to tell apart at the core. But whilst one smells like a normal heart, albeit with a much larger amount of light in it than he has ever seen before, the other one _also_ smells like their superior, if not on a smaller scale than the silverette’s. 

Zexion slinks down a hidden corridor before the boys can notice his presence, aware that something strange is at work here.

* * *

Travelling with Ventus goes from normal to  _strange_ over the course of several floors.

Not because the boy is odd, or because he has strange habits, but because Ventus is so fucking much _like_ Sora that Riku has to remind himself more than once that he is not travelling with his brunet love.

Riku doesn’t think it too strange at first. He looks like Sora, yes, and Riku had honestly believed he’d never see another pair of eyes that were the exact colour of the sky back home. And he acts kind of like Sora too: they’re both bubbly and optimistic boys, with a keen intelligence that is well hidden behind a laid-back, happy-go-lucky attitude.

He doesn’t think it strange at all, until about three floors up when he notices his memory is off, and he looks at Ventus and _sees_ him in his mind as Sora. His memory _glitches_ , and for a moment he sees himself sitting on the beach of their island, with Sora sat next to him but _looking_ like Ventus.

Riku shakes his head, as if doing so will clear the fog that has begun to descend over his memories, and Ventus turns to him with his head cocked to the side.

“You okay?”

No, because when he thinks of kissing Sora at the door, _Sora has no fucking face_.

“Something’s not right.” Riku winces as he says it, one hand pressed to his forehead with his fingers digging into his hairline. Ventus goes to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Riku bats it away with a wave of his hand.

He feels dizzy, as though gravity has disappeared and he’s stuck to the floor only via his shoes. Ventus stands close by, one hand still outstretched as he stands there, unable to do anything as he doesn’t have a clue what is going on.

The nausea passes, and the fog on Riku’s memories lifts, though even he knows the memories are still _wrong_. He’s thinking of Sora, the brunet boy who he has betrayed and lost to the darkness only to get him back, but for some reason his face _flickers_ in his mind.

Gritting his teeth, jaw tense and face stormy, Riku continues through the marble halls of the castle. Ventus follows, wary.

* * *

It starts with his memories.

Marluxia tells him that he will not lose as many memories as he should, for his heart is not actually _in_ his chest. But, nevertheless, his strongest memories that evoke echoes of emotions in his chest disappear one by one. He remembers playing on the beach with Riku and Kairi, splashing sea water at each other as Riku tackles him into the sea.

He remembers that well, until he does not. He remembers sword fighting on the beach with Kairi as Namine keeps score, laying on the beach between them with their fingers interlaced tightly as the sun sets above them. He remembers the warmth of the wind, silver hair flashing in the sun.

Wait.

He _knows_ that isn’t right, that somewhere in there something has gone wrong. None of his friends have silver hair, right?

His heart is in here, somewhere.

Sora knows this, because he’s beginning to hear the infernal whisperings of Ansem in the back of his mind. He knows this, because after what _feels_ like several hours of fighting through several floors of this castle, his patience has all but ran out and been replaced with frustration. That frustration rises whenever he realises his memory has gone awry.

He’s beginning to feel _joy_ when he finds a card for Donald or Goofy, and utter _dread_ when he looks down at a poor deck of cards. And, he’s starting to feel unbridled _anger_ every time he sees a _card_.

And when he manages to drive his keyblade through Marluxia’s chest?

_Satisfaction._

* * *

The first time he notices the white-haired man, Ventus nearly drops his keyblade.

He never _quite_ sees him. One moment Ventus is fighting what Riku calls a _heartless_ (but which looks to him just like an unversed), and the next something flickers in the corner of his vision. The man is tall and intimidating, white hair and gold eyes flashing, but when Ventus tries to _look_ he disappears.

It is eerie, but that’s not what catches Ventus’ attention. It’s the shocking similarity to Terra that he _thinks_ he sees in the corner of his vision. It’s there in the jaw, in the shape of the eyes, but Ventus can’t _focus_ on him enough to be sure, as he hovers in his periphery.

Ventus is trying to focus on the man, the one that Riku claims he cannot see but describes as a man named _Ansem_ , when the ground shakes beneath their feet. The whole castle shudders, a deep and vibrating groan that makes Ventus stumble forward and Riku lean against a pillar to steady himself.

“What’s going on?” Ventus shouts over the noise, needlessly it turns out as the shaking stops a second later.

“One of the scents has died – a really strong one.” Riku wrinkles his nose, and Ventus privately thinks that he still finds it a bit odd that Riku seems to be able to _smell_ the people in this castle.

Both boys glance up as a dark portal opens on top of the steps ahead of them, a slate-haired man stepping out as it closes behind him.

“What do you want?” Ventus yells across the distance. Riku has noticed the young man getting tense, as he has been since he asked Riku about the white-haired man in his periphery. Riku would be worried about Ventus, if it weren’t for the fact that he can _hear_ Ansem in his own mind, a whisper amongst the white noise of his mind.

The man ahead of them is small, Riku notes, and he wonders if he will last long against Ventus. Riku had thought, arrogantly, that he could fight well with a keyblade: his jaw had just about hit the _floor_ when he entered his first battle with the blond. Ventus fights like a _whirlwind_ , throwing beams of light around like he’s been doing it since birth, and his fighting style is faster and more elegant than anything Riku has ever seen in his life.

As Riku analyses him, Zexion himself analyses the two before him. He is very rarely surprised at the sight of someone: his superior sense of smell ensures that no one is unfamiliar to him anymore, but even he feels his eyes widen somewhat when he claps eyes on that _boy_.

Because Zexion remembers living as Ienzo, and he remembers with absolute _clarity_ the day that he had been surrounded by the unversed. He can remember the glint of the keyblade, the sound of an unzipped jacket flapping with the wind and the way blond hair never _quite_ seemed to obey gravity as _that boy_ saved his life.

Oh, if Even were still alive, he’d be _howling_ into the hallways.

“The keeper of this castle has just been felled by the keyblade wielder.” He says by way of explanation, and he hopes beyond belief that the blond does not recognise him. It will make for unnecessary complications, and Zexion does not like being in debt to another.

“Keyblade wielder? You mean Sora? He’s here?”

“What! Are you talking about _Aqua_?”

Riku and Ventus shout at the same time, but Zexion catches both answers and merely nods his head in Riku’s direction.

“Do you want to see him? Can you even _face_ him?”

Something in the way that Riku stiffens beside him has Ventus turning to him in curiosity.

“What are you talking about?” Ventus asks, and sees Riku clench his fists at the words. The slate-haired man before them gives a hollow laugh.

“The world of darkness, and Ansem’s shadow, rest in your heart. You betrayed him, and _then_ you let his heart be taken by Ansem. He wanders these halls without a heart, because you tried to kill him. It has made his heart sick; look at how it infects your travelling companion.” Zexion makes a notion towards Ventus. “Are you sure you should face him? Do you not feel ashamed?”

Ventus turns to Riku, full of confusion and _so many_ questions. Riku had told him only a basic history of what had happened between him and Sora: no mention of any betrayal or possession by darker hearts had ever been mentioned. Zexion’s words resonate with the silver haired man, however; even Ventus can see that Riku’s shoulders tense with shame, and he dips his chin slightly in the face of his actions.

“Sora’s fate was to battle the darkness. And you infected him with it. His heart will never be the same again. And, if he gets it back, he must oppose anyone who hosts the darkness – _you_.”

Ventus can see Riku cracking, buckling under the sudden anger that rises in his heart. The man before them smirks, before he produces a blue card and tosses it at Riku’s feet.

“If you don’t believe me, find the truth for yourself. It is your home.”

He disappears in a swirl of blue and black as the dark corridor consumes him. Riku goes to pick up the card but Ventus, in need of _answers_ , keeps it pinned to the floor with the tip of his keyblade.

“Hey, give that to me-“

“ _No_. You know more than you’re telling me; _tell me_ what has been going on. Why have you never heard of my friends if you’re a keyblade wielder? Who are these people? What did _he_ mean when he said you tried to kill Sora; you told me he was your best friend!”

“I’ll tell you if you give me the damned _thing_!”

Riku tugs at the card, and Ventus releases it with a grumble. He does so quickly, so that Riku will at least fall back onto his ass as he tries to get the card back, and smirks when his plan is victorious.

Ventus is not so cruel to not help him to his feet, and he holds his hand out for Riku to take it. The other boy does, and Ventus sees a shadow behind his eyes as he takes a deep breath and steadies himself.

Riku tells him everything. He admits his wrongdoings, how he was led astray easily by Maleficent – and Ventus has to interrupt at that point because _Maleficent?_ She’s involved? Riku tells him of how he was told there could only be one keyblade bearer, and how his conversation with an older man when he was a child led him to believe it rightfully belonged to _him_ , and not Sora. He tells Ventus of it all, the betrayal, how he gave his heart up to Ansem only to watch in horror as his struggle sent Ansem after Sora’s empty shell instead. Riku speaks of locking the door to darkness with himself in the dark realm, desperate to save Sora even though the boy lacks a heart and shouldn’t _be_.

Ventus whistles at the end of it all.

“Man, you really messed up.”

* * *

The island is so peaceful, and so devastatingly calm, that Riku almost forgets that it is an illusion.

“This place is amazing.” Ventus speaks from his right, and for a moment Riku can almost believe that it is real. His lips quirk in a small smile.

“I hated this place. I never thought I’d miss the island winds so much. I spent so long waiting to get out of here.”

Ventus smiles.

“Yeah, I spent so long wanting adventure, to get away from the Land of Departure. I’d give anything to go back, but I have no idea what happened to it. If it’s even still there.”

They push themselves off the tree trunk simultaneously, and Ventus looks around with one last look of awe. It feels almost familiar, though he cannot place why.

“Getting comfortable?”

Riku could roll his eyes, so sick he is of that voice already. Both boys turn to see Zexion behind them, a smirk on his lips. “You’ve been to so many worlds inside this castle, make sure you don’t forget that this one isn’t real. After all, it is full of dark memories, to reflect all that is left in your heart.”

“That’s not true! I remember my friends, Tidus and Wakka and Selphie, and Kairi and Sora! My closest…friends.”

Riku falters at the last part, his shoulders slumping, and Zexion smirks.

“Oh, but you threw away those friends. Did you forget your own actions?”

Ventus steps closer to Riku, one hand on his shoulders.

“Ignore him! He’s trying to break you!”

“I don’t need to break him; he knows _he_ destroyed his home.” Zexion’s words are remarkably smooth for all that they are cruel and barbed, and Ventus’ keyblade appears in his hand in one quick movement.

But the world goes dark for the briefest of moments, so that Ventus cannot even find Riku. The world returns a moment later, and Ventus finds that they have been separated as the Island has been torn apart. They float in a vacuum of darkness, Riku trapped on a large part of the Island and Ventus trapped on a floating bit of debris several metres above him.

“This is that night!”

Ventus wonders if he means the night he opened the door on the Islands, because this is a veritable nightmare.

“All of the islands you grew up on were sundered, scattered. Many hearts were forever lost to the darkness. Your friends, your family, everyone you ever knew. Because of what _you_ did.”

Ventus can barely hear the words out of Zexion’s mouth over the roaring of the wind, but Riku hears them loud and clear as they pierce the darkest corners of his heart. Before he can protest, Zexion recreates before their eyes that _night_ , and Riku is forced to watch himself approach the door and _open it_.

“You belong only to the darkness.”

Ventus is eternally grateful to Riku, for the silver-haired boy appears to have even less patience than him. One moment Zexion is speaking, and the next Riku is _on_ him, his keyblade ready for a vicious slashing attack that Ventus admires even from his distance.

As the battle begins below him, Ventus tries to change his keyblade with urgency, but no matter how hard he focuses the metal won’t _warp_ , and the distance to the island below is too far for him to jump without breaking a leg.

The battle intensifies, with several moments where Ventus cannot see Riku at all, and he contemplates just making the jump _anyway_ whilst _really_ wishing he had taken Aqua up on her magic lessons. His beams of light are useless here when the action is below him, and he cannot _see_ Zexion well enough to cast a fireball at him.

But then Riku lands a particularly hard hit on Zexion when he appears before him, and it is as if a spell on Ventus evaporates. With one movement of his hand his keyblade changes into his glider, and Ventus uses it to swoop down to the island below. Riku watches him land in something akin to surprise and awe, his eyes never leaving the glider even as his shoulders heave with his exhaustion. Zexion has disappeared.

Riku looks away, to something _behind_ Ventus, and the blond turns to find a younger boy at the edge of the island. From the way Riku’s eyes widen, Ventus wonders if it is Sora.

“Sora!”

Yes, then.

The boy does not turn, even as Riku shouts his name again, with more urgency. Riku leaves him there, forgetting him completely as he runs up to the brunet.

“Sora! It’s me, it’s Riku-“

Even from his distance, Ventus can see as the brunet turns with a wicked smirk on his lips. The expression _looks_ wrong, and something pulls in his chest in fear as he sees eyes glint gold in the lowlight. Riku’s gasp is audible, before the brunet leaps at him with his keyblade at the ready.

Riku takes it, as much as he can afford to. He parries the attack, holding his keyblade with both hands as Sora bores down on him, lips twisted and teeth bared in a snarl.

“Stop it, Sora! Don’t you recognise me?”

“Yeah, I recognise you! I can see exactly what you’ve become!”

Something in Ventus _tears_ at that, a part of him he hasn’t noticed until now but which he recognises immediately as a part of himself that isn’t _him_. He feels heartbreak and guilt at seeing Sora say those things to a stricken Riku, but it doesn’t belong to him.

Before Ventus can intervene, Riku knocks Sora backwards, but the brunet responds with a bolt of light from his keyblade that sends Riku flying to the floor.

“You’re not Riku anymore. You’re just a pawn of the darkness.”

That _thing_ in Ventus’ chest breaks and keeps him there frozen, unable to act as he watches Sora beat Riku into the ground. There’s a part of him that recognises this conversation, eleven years earlier and with another couple torn apart by the darkness.

“It’s time for you to face the light!”

Ventus is propelled into action as Sora raises the keyblade again. The area they are in is bathed in light, but Riku remains on the floor. His eyes are wide and unblinking, his breathing is shallow, and Ventus realises he has gone into an unresponsive stupor. Sora has equally disappeared, and he concludes that whatever conversation Riku and Sora are having, it’s entirely in Riku’s mind.

He slaps him.

“Wake up! It’s not real, don’t let yourself fade!” No response, and so Ventus winces and slaps him harder. “It’s not _him_ , it’s not Sora!”

Riku’s breath hitches, and Ventus shakes him.

“Riku, the darkness can’t take you, and the light won’t hurt you. Wake _up_.”

The other boy’s eyes refocus, his breathing coming in more ragged breaths now, but Ventus refuses to give up. “The darkness in your heart is vast and deep, but you don’t need to be afraid of it.” The words are not his own; Ventus is aware of his own body enough to know this, and for the briefest of moments he hears two heartbeats thundering in his ears.

Riku comes back faster than a lightning strike. One moment is he prone on the floor, and the next he is far from Ventus with his keyblade at the ready, and Ventus _hears_ rather than sees the blade connect with Sora ten feet away.

“Impossible.”

Sora vanishes before his eyes, the image of the brunet shattering into the wind as he is replaced with the taller figure of Zexion. The slate-haired man is clutching at his stomach, and Ventus can see the blood pooling through his fingers. The light that has been bathing them disappears, and Zexion vainly tries to attack again.

Ventus throws his keyblade as Riku attacks again, but his keyblade merely bounces back as Riku sends a shocking stream of dark firaga balls at Zexion. Each ball of black flames hits the older man and is absorbed into his cloak, before Riku slams his keyblade into the ground, sending dark energy waves out that knock an injured Zexion to his knees.

The other man _laughs_.

“After all that, you’re just like us anyway. On the side of darkness.” His laugh is sardonic as he spits blood onto the floor, but before Riku can finish him off he disappears into a dark corridor. He flings his keyblade towards the empty space in frustration, before Ventus moves closer and tries to calm him.

“Hey, hey he’s gone. He won’t last much longer.”

* * *

They find the card to Twilight Town on the floor outside the final door.

They continue, defeating the replica on the way, and _man_ does Ventus find that a strange experience, to see two Riku’s standing before him who are both so unnervingly alike.

The castle is nigh-on-empty. Riku states he cannot detect any more of the scents of the men in the black coats, save for the redhead who had dropped Ventus at Riku’s feet. But even he is far away, several floors below and confined to one wing. Ventus finds that eerie, to think of a castle this big being _completely_ empty besides Lea below them and the four people the next floor up that Riku claims he can detect.

They enter the mansion in the final generated room, through the laboratory and into the depths. It is quiet, as they walk down a corridor containing two opaque science pods. Ventus cocks his head at one of them as Riku continues to the last door, the only sound in the corridor the steady beeping of a computer.

Riku darts into the room the moment he sees the transparent pod.

“Sora!”

The girl hiding behind the pod, who he guesses is Namine if that strange bandaged man is telling the truth, peeks her head around and looks at him. But Riku is impatient and ready to be done with this place, and he turns on her.

“What have you done to Sora!”

“Nothing! He’s just asleep, until we can get his memory back, and find his heart.”

When Riku looks at her in confusion, she begins her explanation. He follows it as much as he can, but Ventus is the one who seems to understand her more. In his own defence, Riku thinks to himself, he hadn’t even known you couldn’t survive without a heart _six months ago_.

“So, he just hopped in?” Riku shakes his head. “That’s so _Sora_.”

“You have a choice to make too.” Namine continues, her voice soft, and Riku finds that it makes him think of Kairi. There is a tenderness to her voice that seems to come naturally, something he associates with his fiery best friend.

“Why me too? My memories went funny, yes, but they’re back to normal now.”

The blonde witch shakes her head.

“Not your memories. Your darkness.” Her face is inexplicably sad. “Ansem left your heart to take over Sora, but when he did he left a part of himself in you. It will remain there, for as long as you allow yourself to have darkness inside your heart. He is at bay for now, but eventually he will wake up, and he will overtake you just like before.”

Riku finds himself confused by her words, and he dips his head to catch her gaze.

“I don’t understand. Ansem _left_ to take over Sora, and I defeated him. Is he not in Sora’s heart?”

Another shake of the head.

“He is in Sora’s heart, and he is not. He will poison Sora’s thoughts for the rest of his life, and Sora will always have darkness in his heart, but he did not let Ansem into his heart. As long as he has a heart, he is safe. Prone to the darkness, but safe.”

“So you didn’t doom him to the darkness.” Ventus speaks up, in an attempt to be comforting, but Riku only nods sharply. Namine continues.

“I have powers you can use. I can put a tight lock on your heart. Ansem will never be able to come out from inside you.”

“But I’ll lose my memories, I’m guessing.”

“You’ll forget the darkness, yes. You’ll go back to how you were.”

Riku doesn’t think that’s a very good deal; how he _was_ could be described any number of ways, his personal favourite being _arrogant little shit_. He doesn’t quite want to go back to that.

His lips turn into a fond smile as he looks up at Sora, floating in the pod unawares.

“He doesn’t even look worried.” He pauses for a moment, before he shakes his head, silver strands falling into his face. “I won’t let myself forget what I did to him. And when this slacker wakes up, I’ll tell him off for going to sleep.”

“So you won’t sleep?” Ventus pipes up, speaking for the first time since entering the room. Riku nods in the affirmative, and Ventus looks relieved.

“I don’t need my heart locked. I’ll fight Ansem myself, _if_ he returns.”

Namine smiles, a gentle smile that shows her hope and her belief that Riku will be able to do as he says. The latter looks up at Sora, a sad smile tugging at his lips, and slender fingers raise to press against the glass in a brief display of affection. Riku turns to leave, his shoes squeaking on the clean floor, and Ventus shares a smile with Namine before he follows.

“Look after Sora!” Riku shouts to Namine, and the blond witch nods dutifully.

“Ok, so where are _we_ going?” Ventus asks, wide eyes bright and curious, and the part of his heart that _loves_ adventure stirs at the prospect of more.

Riku shrugs, one hand on the door, and Ventus grins.

* * *

They are almost out of the castle; the journey down to the ground floor had been undertaken in silence, both boys dealing with their respective thoughts as they descend.

The silence does not last long, however, for the moment they leave through the doors Riku spots someone at the bottom of the marble steps. Ventus does not notice, for he turns to look back at the giant castle he has never seen from the outside and feels his breath leave him in a gasp.

It’s not the Land of Departure, not by a long shot. But _there_ , on the spikes and engraved into the walls is something that is so _familiar_. Ventus cannot place his finger on it: just like the sigils in the room where he had awakened, the symbols bear a similarity to Terra’s mark.

Before Ventus can connect the dots, he tunes in as Riku starts a conversation with the stranger.

“Gosh, I guess you decided not to go to sleep.”

“No. It wouldn’t be fair on any of us.”

And Ventus _knows_ that first voice; he recognises it with a pang of nostalgia, one that brings back memories of a time when he had been innocent and his friends _alive_.

“ _Mickey_?”

The mouse looks up as Ventus says his name in disbelief, and even from up the steps Ventus can see his eyes widen comically. He jumps down the remaining steps, coming to a stop just in front of him.

“ _Ventus_? Gosh, you’re awake!”

“Where is Aqua? And Terra?” Because Ventus figures that if anyone knows, it’s probably Mickey. The mouse immediately looks awkward, his eyes flickering down to the ground as he debates his answer.

“Ven, it’s been a real long time since you went to sleep.”

“Oh come on, it can’t have been that long.”

The words are clearly not the right ones to say, for the mouse looks up at Riku so that he doesn’t have to lie directly to Ventus.

“Ventus, you’ve been asleep for eleven years.”

Ventus feels like he’s been kicked in the stomach as the mouse says those words. Mickey’s gaze is sad as he looks up at Ventus, and he senses the worst is coming.

“And Terra and Aqua?”

For a moment, Ventus wonders if they’re _dead_. He had not seen either of them come out of the fight with Xehanort; _he_ had been knocked out by that point, as far as he remembers. Mickey’s expression does not soothe his worries.

“No one has seen them, Ven. I’m real sorry, but we don’t know what happened to them.”

His anxiousness over Terra and Aqua has reached such a high that those words _comfort_ him. Missing is not _dead_ , and that is all he can bring himself to care about. But Ventus is so stricken, he does not notice as Riku narrows his eyes down at the king, nor does he notice Mickey shake his head in a silent _no_.

The man standing behind Mickey clears his throat, and Ventus looks over at him with a jolt of surprise: he had not even _noticed_ him there.

“You have chosen to walk your own path, Riku. But what about you, Ventus?” The man says his name like he is testing it on his tongue, and it makes Ventus shudder slightly. He holds a bundle of black fabric over one arm, and Ventus eyes it warily.

“I’m gonna find Aqua and Terra. I know they’re out there somewhere, I just _know_ it.”

The bundle of fabric is separated into three leather coats, ones that are an exact replica of those worn by the Organization. Riku takes his without hesitation: Ventus takes his as though it is infected with the plague. Mickey takes the final one, and smiles when he notices the ear holes.

“You may find that your paths converge, if you do not set out together.” The words are mysterious, but golden eyes that glint in the low light turn onto Ventus and fix him there with their intensity. “And you, if you do not fade into obscurity, the Organization will pursue you. It will pursue you both, but _you_ it will pursue with particular vigour. Like a pack of hunting dogs, once they catch sight of you they will never stop trying to catch you.”

“Why me?” Ventus asks, shrugging the coat on. It fits like a glove. The man only shakes his head.

“I cannot say, for I do not know. I only know this: The Organization only inhabited that castle to find _you_. Coming across Sora was only a fortunate happenstance. Axel avoided you both because you were not relevant to his mission, and perhaps out of sentimentality towards you, Ventus. But trust me when I say, he will report back to the Organization that you are awake, and out of the chamber. Once they find that out, you will never be safe from them.”

Ventus’ casual manner dissipates as he feels his blood run cold. All those people in that castle, and they were there for _him_? How had no one found him, if he’d truly been there for eleven years?

“And the coats?” Riku questions, hoping to steer the conversation away from anything too traumatic.

“Protection, against the darkness. They will also hide you from other nobodies. Do not travel through the darkness without them.”

Riku nods once, sharply, and Ventus copies his movement. He feels _cold_ and confused, and attempting to make sense of anything that is going on is becoming increasingly difficult. Where are Terra and Aqua? Why is there a shady Organization, desperately trying to find _him_?

He misses the remainder of Riku’s conversation with the man, only coming back to the present when Riku takes a step forwards and walks straight past the man in red. Ventus looks at him carefully, a curious and examining look as his eyes move up and down the red attire, before he follows Riku with Mickey behind him.

“I’ve got to find my friends.”

Riku smiles.

“I know. And I’ve got to find Sora’s heart.”

“Think we can do it together?”

Riku’s laugh travels down the empty path ahead of them.

“Damn right I do.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I said that the next chapter was a monster, I really wasn't kidding. I'm struggling a lot with writing Sora post COM, so rather than keep everyone waiting for so long everyone forgets what the story actually is about, I've broken it up and have changed the tags so that it's changed from 3 chapters to 4. 
> 
> If the alternate Twilight Town bits get confusing, just ask/point it out because I'm aware there's some bits where I might not be clear on who is speaking because even I got confused writing it at some bits.
> 
> And hopefully Sora proves a bit easier to write and I can finish the next chapter soon!

Sora falls asleep in the pod thirty-three days after Riku helps him close the door to darkness.

They move him to Twilight Town fifty-six days later.

Seventy-nine days after Sora starts the long sleep, and one-hundred and twelve days after the door is shut, Xemnas seeks them out.

It is only once, and Riku will later wonder _why_ he had sought them out without the aim of taking Ventus if he had truly been so desperate to find the blond boy in Castle Oblivion. They’re in Traverse Town, trying to find _someone_ to whom Sora must have been close with, close enough for his heart to seek refuge with them, but they are coming up empty _again_ when they reach the central square of the second district. Traverse Town is dark and gloomy, the streets empty in the drizzling rain, and Riku and Ventus blend in almost seamlessly into the shadows. Though Riku is slightly taller, the only way to discern which one is which is when they step out of the shadows, and Riku’s silver hair can be seen poking out from under the hood.

Ventus turns, looking at the various shop names and the bright lights that are almost overpowering when he is _so_ tired, when the man leaning against the ‘Dress & Suit’ shop stands upright. Ventus’ eyes hone in on him immediately, certain he had not been there when they first entered the district. He pulls at the sleeve of Riku’s coat, the other teen just behind him and looking at the hotel contemplatively, and when Riku turns to follow his line of sight the man steps into the light.

Ventus nearly falls over.

Golden eyes glance down at him, so bright and piercing even in the dim lights of Traverse Town. They are in the centre of the square where the light is at its lowest, but even still Ventus _knows_ those eyes are fixed on him and him alone. But it’s not the piercing gaze that gets him, nor is it the shock of silver hair he knows to ascribe to Xemnas due to DiZ’s physical descriptions. It’s not even the confident smirk that twists familiar lips into something sinister.

It’s the damned _face_.

“Terra!”

The word leaves his lips before he can control them, and even Riku can hear in the tone how it tears at Ventus’ heart, a disbelief mixed with shock and surprise. Ventus pulls his hood back as Riku glances at him in confusion and irritation, and Ventus moves forward so he is visible in the light.

Something in Xemnas falters: the smirk turns into a frown, and even from the centre of the square Ventus can see him take the slightest of steps backwards. The frown then turns into a pained, distant expression, before a dark corridor envelopes the leader of Organization XIII. Before Riku can stop him, Ventus runs up the steps and dives at the portal, but all he does is land on the floor with a loud enough smack that Riku winces from the bottom of the steps.

Riku rushes to help Ventus to his feet, brushing away the wet stones that cover his palms from doing so. Once Ventus is on his feet, Riku drags him off towards an alley.

“What the _hell_ was that?”

“Hey, get off of me-“

“You could have gotten yourself killed!” Riku takes Ventus by the shoulders and physically shoves him against a brick wall with the intention of getting through to him. “What would you have done if you ended up in that portal with him?”

Ventus squirms uncomfortably under Riku’s sharp gaze, knowing the other boy has a point. But he’s so certain that was _Terra_ , right down to his bones and his soul. He fingers the wayfinder in his pocket as he tries to think of what to say.

“That was Terra, I _know_ it.”

“No, that was _Xemnas_.”

“It was Terra-“

“It was _Xemnas_!” Riku shakes Ventus to try to drive his point home, but Ventus is looking up at him with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, and his lips are set in a frown.

“I know Terra’s face, Riku. And Xemnas looked an awful lot like him.”

Riku groans in frustration.

“Oh for the _love_ of-“ Riku cuts himself off from swearing, and opens a portal right behind Ventus. He pulls him through the dark corridor, exiting directly in front of DiZ in the Twilight Town mansion.

If the bandaged man is surprised to see them, it does not show on his face.

Riku pushes Ventus towards DiZ, an eyebrow raised. “Go on, tell him your theory then.”

Ventus throws a glare in Riku’s direction, not liking being belittled,

“I don’t _have_ a theory, all I said was that the man we saw was Terra.”

DiZ raises his own eyebrow at that, or at least Riku thinks he does, it’s hard to tell with the bandages.

“We saw Xemnas.” Riku clarifies. DiZ frowns.

“You saw one or the other, not both.” DiZ says, and Riku nods.

“Yeah, we saw _Xemnas_.”

“Well what if Xemnas’ somebody is Terra? We don’t know for sure.” Ventus pipes up, adamant in his certainty. DiZ sighs.

“It is not. The somebody of Xemnas was a man I knew a long time ago.”

Riku leans against a bookcase, arms folded over his chest.

“You’ve never told us this before.” Granted, Riku has only known DiZ for three months, but still, he considers this important enough to be known immediately.

“I did not think it important, I did not know him well. The somebody of Xemnas was an apprentice to Ansem the Wise, the ruler of Radiant Garden. His name was Xehanort. He took the name of Ansem the Wise when he gave up his heart to darkness.” Riku takes note of the bitterness in DiZ’s voice with narrowed eyes, but Ventus moves closer to DiZ at those words.

“That’s not Xehanort.”

“I assure you, young man, that Xemnas was Xehanort.”

Ventus shakes his head.

“No, Xehanort was _old_. Xehanort was trying to turn me into the  _x_ blade, experimenting with hearts, and he coerced Terra into striking down Eraqus…” Ventus trails off, and Riku notes how DiZ is looking at him keenly. Riku himself is looking at Ventus with furrowed brows, because isn’t _this_ just a day of revelations that really should have been disclosed _sooner_.

“Yes, experimenting with hearts was something Xehanort could not resist.”

“Yeah, but Xehanort was _old_ , like real old. Couldn’t even walk upright, not properly.”

Before Ventus can say anything else, DiZ opens up a portal of his own, and they follow him through without a word. They end up in an abandoned circular room, dark and dusty, and Riku thinks it may not have seen an open window in _years_.

DiZ flicks a switch, and Riku finds that he was right. The office is circular with a desk in the centre, though the whole place is in disarray. It has either been looted, which he doubts, or someone left in a hurry in the middle of a struggle. Papers and books are strewn about, chairs knocked over, and everything is covered with a thick layer of dust. Apart from the portrait on the wall, that is.

Ventus is staring at it with bug eyes, though he kind of looks like he’s going to be sick, if Riku is honest.

“ _That_ is the man I saw as Ansem the Wise’s apprentice.”

“That’s Terra.”

DiZ looks surprised at the conviction in Ventus’ voice, which is a first.

“Can you be certain of that?”

“Listen, I _know_ Terra. I know his face anywhere. The hair colour is wrong, but everything else is Terra. Look, there’s even that stupid spike in the middle, that Aqua could never get to lay flat.”

And Riku has to admit, whilst he cannot remember the name of the man who gave him the keyblade, the portrait on the wall evokes a sense of familiarity.

“Are you sure it is not that he only looks familiar?” DiZ asks, and something in Riku’s mind clicks.

“I think he’d know more than you. I mean, it’s not like Xehanort was _your_ apprentice. You said he was apprenticed to this Ansem the Wise, _who is definitely not you_ , so how do you know it’s not a case of body possession? We know his heartless could do it.”

DiZ’s eyes narrow, something which Ventus does not notice, but which Riku absolutely _does_ and smirks in response to, but DiZ does not take the bait.

“You make a fair point.” DiZ’s voice is stiff, and Riku nods his head in agreement with a false smile on his face.

“I’m sure I do, _DiZ_.”

“I mean, Xehanort could have possessed him? I know Terra was falling to the darkness, but he would never have given in, and he was pretty against Xehanort at the end so he wouldn’t have taken his name, not willingly.”

“Are you sure?” Riku asks Ventus, and the blond rolls his eyes.

“Well, last I remember of the battle Terra was trying to shove his keyblade through Xehanort’s chest, so I’d say yeah.”

“Well then. That’s…” Riku trails off, unsure how to say what he is thinking. “I suppose, at least we found one of your friends?”

“None of this matters.” DiZ interjects, his voice harsh. “Your friend may have been the host, but both are gone. Xehanort lost his body when he gave up his heart to the darkness. Xemnas may look like your friend, but he is not in there.”

“You don’t know that-“ Ventus starts, but DiZ cuts him off.

“Yes I do. A nobody has no feelings, has no heart. Xemnas is as much your friend Terra as Riku is, seeing as he has your friend’s heartless living in his heart.”

Riku personally feels like that is a low blow no matter how much he’s pissed DiZ off, and he hadn’t even thought of that, but the topic is clearly only going to lead to arguments, and so he keeps his mouth shut.

As though sick of the conversation and their very presence, DiZ opens up a corridor of darkness again and motions for them to step through. Ventus, shoulders down with dejection, steps through it, but Riku pauses once the blond is through.

He stares at DiZ for a moment, those golden eyes locking with his own teal ones. There is a moment where he contemplates walking through and keeping his thoughts to himself, but he does not trust DiZ. Not at all.

“I know who you are.” He says, loud and firm without a quiver in his voice, and DiZ tilts his head in irritation.

Before DiZ can say a word in response, however, Riku steps through the portal.

* * *

They’re in The World That Never Was when they catch their first unhooded glimpse of Sora’s nobody.

It does not go at all as smoothly as Riku had hoped. He had been hoping for a quick grab, for them to spy the boy and get him, a quick in and out mission. Posters of them are all over the city, warning the members of the Organization that there are two imposters, but there are no details on their appearance.

Which, in hindsight, probably contributes to why Ventus hasn't been attracting as much attention from the dusks as Riku has.

It has been one-hundred and eight days since Sora started the long sleep.

They’re on the top of a low-rise building near Memory’s Skyscraper, high enough to not be seen from the ground but close enough to be able to get a good look at anyone crossing the square. Riku thinks they look like a couple of idiots, laid flat along the floor and propped up on their elbows as they observe the square. It is remarkably well-lit, even if it _is_ in an array of neon colours that almost hurt to look at.

“Someone’s coming.” Ventus says, motioning over to the alley next to one of the empty corner-shops. Riku shifts, pulling out the spyglass DiZ had given to him. He rolls his eyes every time he uses them, because hasn’t DiZ heard of _modern_ technology like _binoculars_? He can use a computer perfectly, but carries around a damned spyglass like it’s normal. Riku lifts the edge of the blindfold and peers through.

He confirms that the teenager crossing the square is alone, no heartless or nobodies around, but he immediately notices a crop of blond hair creeping out from the sides of the hood. Before he can comment on it to Ventus, Sora’s nobody (what was his name, Roxas?) pulls back the hood and shakes out his hair.

It is an innocent gesture, but Riku gets a good look at his face and nearly drops the fucking spyglass.

“Oh _fuck_.”

Next to him, Ventus shifts so he is looking at Riku with an expression of worry and curiosity on his face.

“What? What’s going on?” He whispers, and Riku pulls the glass from his eye and turns to look at Ventus.

“You might not wanna see this, blondie.”

Ventus narrows his eyes, genuinely confused and curious as to what the _hell_ Riku has seen.

“Give me that.” He takes the spyglass from Riku and shifts forwards with a purpose. Riku knows the moment Ventus has realised what surprised Riku, because his entire body tenses and he inhales sharply.

“What the _hell_? I thought you said he was _Sora’s_ nobody?” There’s an edge of panic in Ventus’ voice.

“ _He is_!” Riku’s whisper is getting louder, a harsh hiss that is carrying on the wind. Below them, Roxas pauses. Beside him, Ventus continues.

“Then why the hell is he wearing my face?”

“Wearing it? Did he skin you when I wasn’t looking?” Ventus doesn’t laugh, and Riku frowns. “Any chance you have a long-lost twin brother you don’t know about?” He then asks in a mocking, hopeful tone. Ventus lowers the spyglass and turns to him with an unimpressed blank stare. “No? Well, shit.”

“We can’t engage him in battle.” Ventus says, and Riku looks across at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Why not?”

“How you gonna tell which one is me?”

Riku nods in acquiescence of the point, but before he can say anything they hear the tell-tale sound of a keyblade coming into existence.

“Oh shit.” Riku peeks over the edge of the building to see Roxas looking right up at them. “Fall back.” There’s no way to fight Roxas, not like this, not when there’s no way to discern him from Ventus.

Ventus, who is beginning to feel the shock of seeing another boy with his face, and is staring down the building at a defiant looking Roxas.

“I don’t understand, _why_ does he look like that-“

“Fall. Back.” Riku pushes himself up to his feet, and yanks Ventus up with him. He is panicking, knowing they cannot fight especially with Ventus seeming so surprised, and he does not even _think_ when he opens a corridor of darkness. There is no control in his action, only the easy pull of the darkness.

For the briefest of moments, he feels Ansem rear his ugly head, egging him on, whispering in his ears that there is no need to flee. And Riku is tempted, suddenly willing to call on the darkness and use it fully. He does not need Ventus, not when he has Ansem there: Roxas wouldn’t last ten minutes-

“Riku!” Ventus pulls at his arm, dragging him into the corridor and pulling him from his thoughts. Riku feels his heart beating hard in his chest, hears the blood rushing in his ears as Ansem retreats back into the box inside his heart. “Are you okay?”

Riku closes the portal behind them, barely paying attention as he tries to scrub the words from his mind. Ansem’s voice had felt like velvet, and he feels unclean for even considering it. He shakes his head, blindfold shifting, as though doing so would make the memory of that brief moment of consideration fall out of his head.

He looks up and around, looking for something, _anything_ to distract him from his mind. The memory of honeyed words echo, but Riku focuses on a surprised Namine who is sitting at the table in the dining room. Her hand is hovering over a drawing, purple crayon gripped tightly in her fingers, but the words are rising again. They are hushed whispers, indiscernible but louder than anything in the room.

“What happened to you two?”

“Riku, _why_ did he look like-“

“ _Shut. Up!_ ” Riku’s fingers sink into his hair, wrapping tight around strands and clumping them, pulling tight and sending pain rocketing through his skull. He feels his hair snapping, but rather than help him focus all it does is remind him of the sounds of his bones snapping and cracking and re-forming when Ansem had taken him.

He can see Ansem all around the room: he is by the vase at the doorway, sitting on the edge of the table, lounging precariously across the unlit chandelier. He is there, golden eyes flashing and sharp teeth bared in a smirk, and Riku snaps.

Ventus barely has time to bodily haul Namine away from the table before Riku launches his keyblade, covered in black flames, up at the chandelier. The boom is deafening, and the chandelier sways once, twice, and then crashes down onto the table with a thunderous bang that shakes the entire room.

A vase falls off its pedestal, and Riku sets the table on fire.

* * *

Things remain in a tense sort of alliance after the very _brief_ encounter with Roxas.

Namine continues with her work on Sora. It is a mystery to them, how she is able to work on the memories in Sora’s heart when his heart is missing, but she assures them she can link to it via Sora’s body. Her work is hard, her time spent with long hours in the white room until it is all she sees even when she closes her eyes at night.

Ventus and Riku become _much_ quieter over the months, until they blend with the darkness almost _seamlessly_. Riku wears it like a second skin: Ventus wears it like an itchy wet cloak that clings to him in all the wrong places. It is cold and horrid, lurking in the field of his vision and raising the hairs on the back of his neck, a rain-soaked flannel that has been wrapped around him tightly and refuses to let go.

They do not bother Roxas, even as they observe him, and in return he gives them _plenty_ enough warning that he is aware of their presence before he attacks. Going after Terra also turns out to be a moot plan, seeing as they’ll have to work their way through the entire Organization to even get to Xemnas. Riku suggests sending Ventus into the castle whilst pretending to be Roxas, but the idea goes down about as well as a lead balloon.

Ventus’ search for a hint of Aqua, likewise, ends up a pointless waste of time. Mickey tells Ventus in his most honest tone that he has not seen hide nor hair of Aqua since after the battle with Xehanort eleven years previously, and Ventus believes it.

Riku does not, and he notices Mickey deftly trying to avoid looking at his narrowed eyes.

Riku feels like he’s trapped in some sort of dystopian future where everyone is a thrice-damned _liar._ DiZ is quite clearly pretending he isn’t Ansem the Wise himself, and Ventus hasn’t clued in on it no matter how many times Riku drops hints in conversation with the old man. All his pointed words earn him is a glare from DiZ’s direction. He can’t help it, though; he _enjoys_ being a little shit.

Xion comes and goes, and they pity her most of all. They pity her, because they know they will not remember her when she will be absorbed by Roxas. She will be an afterthought on the page, a familiar face that will never be placed.

It is three-hundred and three days since Sora walked into the pod.

The walls are closing in.

* * *

Three days remain until Riku plans to seek out Roxas.

“I have something I need to do, someone I need to check up on.” Riku’s voice is steady, but his body is tense, and if Ventus is honest he looks almost unwilling to do whatever it is he is talking about. “You can come with me if you want. Ditch the coat, though.”

Ventus, curious and eager to be out of the mansion for even a _minute_ , nods in agreement and shucks the coat off his shoulders.

To his utter surprise, Riku removes the blindfold. At Ventus’ raised eyebrow, he laughs. “I’ll stand out immediately with that on. Trust me.”

Ventus does, and follows Riku through the dark portal. Whatever he was expecting, it was _not_ to come out the other side on a white sandy beach. The heat of the sun on his face is immediate, the warm air enveloping him and warming him in places he didn’t even realise were _cold_. The sound of birds soaring ahead assaults his ears, accompanied by the slow lap of the waves on the shore, and Ventus is quite literally _stunned_. It smells salty and windy, and there’s a distinctive scent of coconut on the wind.

“Where _are_ we?”

Riku is standing beside him, his face turned up at the sun. He seems to be relishing the heat, enjoying the warmth, and he kicks at the sand with a smile on his lips.

“Destiny Islands.”

“ _This_ is Destiny Islands?”

Riku looks across at him, squinting a little in the sun.

“Yeah? What were you expecting? You saw it in Castle Oblivion.”

“Well yeah, but I didn’t know if Zexion was just playing everything up to make you miss it. I didn’t realise it really _was_ like this.”

Riku laughs.

“All I ever wanted was to get out of here. I couldn’t settle here, and I still don’t think I could, but damn if I don’t miss it.”

Ventus doesn’t blame him. He can see a play island in the distance, covered with what he can only guess are numerous tree houses, but even from where they stand on the beach he can tell the main island is likely _tiny_. He can see the town in the distance behind Riku, and it doesn’t look _large_.

“Why are we here?”

Riku motions towards one of the cafés on the pavilion just along the beach.

“Need to check on someone.”

Ventus doesn’t need to ask. They walk halfway down the pavilion until Riku stops, and it is busy enough that they can pull off pretending to look into one café appraisingly without drawing attention. Riku leans against one of the white-painted railings, propping himself up by his elbows, and Ventus tries to copy the pose in an effort to look casual.

Riku scans his eyes through the cafés until they land on one two thirds of the way down. It’s full of school kids, but Kairi is easy to spot in the midst of packed tables. She sits alone, a notepad in front of her with an open book beside it, twirling a pen through her fingers as she gazes out to the sea.

Ventus remembers all the stories Riku has told him over the year, tales of a trio of children who spent their days together on the beach and their nights together in each other’s houses, their evenings laid on the beach with hands linked and a warm silence between them.

He wonders how Kairi has dealt with it. When Namine meddled with Sora’s heart and removed everyone’s memories of him, did she fill in that space? Did Kairi wake one morning with a whole new life and a set of friends, or did she wake to find Riku gone with no memory of why, and no friends to help her heal that loss?

Her solitary seat at the table tells Ventus it’s the latter.

“She’s beautiful.” Ventus says it quietly, but Riku gives a huff of a laugh.

“Sora and I certainly thought so. I spent so long getting pissy at Sora for loving Kairi instead of me that I didn’t stop to realise that Sora was doing the exact same thing.”

“She’s a princess of heart, right?”

Riku nods.

“The seventh princess. As if that didn’t make her enough of a target, I’m worried the Organization might come after her once Sora wakes. She was the innocent caught in the crossfire last time, and let me tell you, she’s only gotten more determined to be involved since. I have no doubt that once she remembers Sora, and the reason we aren’t here, she’ll be trying to find her own way off this place. And that will make her even more of a target.”

Ventus takes another look at her, and isn’t surprised. Even though she is looking out to the sea, there is a furrow in her brow as she bites her lip, as though she is searching for an answer to a question only she knows how to ask. He wonders if she is thinking of her missing friends, one gone without a trace and the other only a hazy afterthought in her memories.

“She looks like she can hold her own.”

“She _can_. That’s what worries me, she’s getting more fearless the more the fog clears, and it’s giving me a heart attack.”

Ventus laughs as Riku smiles fondly, and he turns himself around on the railing to look out to the sea. He’s never really been this close to it before, barring Neverland, but even then the majority of his experience was confined to the cliffs. He never got to smell salty air mixed with sun-cream, or hear the waves on the shore. It’s peaceful and calming, and he can both understand _why_ Riku misses it, and why he hated it.

They don’t stay for long, but the warmth of the island lifts their spirits somewhat, and they feel lighter than they have in days.

* * *

But the darkness returns, pulsing heavy waves that rack into his body and twist him in his sheets.

It is a presence in his dreams, a figure on the edge of his vision that disappears when he looks too closely. It is a warm coat that envelops him on the cool dream shore of Destiny Islands, a comforting blanket that welcomes him home after too long spent observing Roxas. It’s a whisper on the wind, that floats into his ears and tells him he can be better, stronger, faster. This can all be over with quickly if he just _relents_.

It is a warm home on a cold day, a cooling ice-cream in scorching heat, a voice that tells him he is no longer that reckless fifteen-year-old, but _sixteen_ and more mature. It tells him he can _do_ it, harness the darkness like a pro. It tells him he is better than the sum of Ansem, but he never misses the way the words are spoken in Ansem’s voice.

It is Riku, standing on the precarious edge of a cliff, wind billowing and coattails flapping in the storm. It is a failing pod and a thousand alarms, a body lowered into the ground and the repeated words _you could have stopped this_. It is the memory of his bones snapping, the sound like splintered wood, the ringing of his keyblade as it smacks against Sora’s.

It is the Destiny Islands, wrapped in darkness and doomed to destruction, trees falling in the storm because a young boy got too curious and opened a door.

It is Riku, alone in his room in the mansion, waking each morning to sweat-soaked sheets as he pushes the darkness back, keyblade already in hand.

It is the _you did this_ that echoes in his mind each time he looks up at Sora floating in his pod.

* * *

Ventus finds Riku on top of the tower in the fake Twilight Town.

It has not been activated yet, and so the dusty town is encapsulated in an eerie silence. No winds blow, no clouds cover the unmoving sun, and the streets are empty of simulated beings. It’s quiet, though ready to be activated the moment Roxas is forced into it.

 _If_ they capture him.

“What are you doing here?”

Riku looks up as Ventus approaches him, and a wry smile twists his lips.

“Wanted to see what was so good about it. Roxas and Axel come up here every evening for nearly a year? Had to be something.”

It has been three-hundred and eight days since the pod closed.

Ventus sits down next to Riku, his legs dangling off the edge of the tower. They sit in silence for a few minutes, a sickness settling in Ventus’ stomach the longer it drags on. Riku is looking paler than usual, and Ventus knows the upcoming battle with Roxas is weighing heavily on his mind.

“Tomorrow, how will you _know_ which one is me?”

Riku smirks.

“I’ll mark your forehead with a red cross.”

Ventus looks across at him, his lips turned in a frown, but Riku only laughs and shakes his head.

“I’m kidding. I suppose you’ll just have to remove your coat. But I’ll be able to tell: you don’t stink of darkness.”

Ventus holds back a laugh at the mental image of Riku halting the battle to _sniff_ them. He knows he is at a severe disadvantage in this battle: he is completely unable to summon the darkness, despite numerous attempts, and so quick exits and powerful dark firaga spells are completely out of his reach. He can cast some amazing light magic after years of training, but all of their surveillance has shown that Roxas can wield it just as spectacularly.

“Good luck tomorrow.”

Ventus’ voice is quiet, but the worry is there nevertheless. Riku nods, his posture calm but his hands fisted tightly. The town is silent.

“You too. Don’t go dying on me, I’m too used to having you around.”

Ventus punches him in the shoulder, hard, but the solid man next to him doesn’t even move. He smiles, and they spend the rest of the hour on the edge of the tower.

* * *

The clearing is quiet, when Riku comes across Mickey. The King is wearing his dark coat given to him by DiZ, though Riku notices the addition of cloth to cover his large ears. It would almost be cute, if they were not meeting under such circumstances.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow. I might not…” Riku trails off, his lower lip caught between his teeth as he struggles to face what he suspects is coming. “ _We_ might not win, and if we do, I think I’m going to have to give up a part of me.” Riku’s voice is steady, though his face is certainly not as he looks anywhere but at Mickey.

“Have you been seeing him again? Ansem?” Mickey’s voice is gentle, but at his words Riku lifts his head and stares at the king steadily.

“Yes.”

Mickey tries not to let his facial expression change, but Riku can see the mouse’s emotions in his eyes, and he _sees_ the worry that seeps into Mickey’s bones.

“You’ll defeat him, Riku, I just know it.”

“You don’t know a damn thing.” Riku cannot help the bitterness in his voice, the taunting edge that invites an argument to start. He directs his gaze to the nearest tree, his eyes hard but unyielding, and regrets his words. Mickey does not rise to the bait.

“I hope the battle goes well.”

Riku nods.

“When Sora wakes…tell him I’m gone.”

“Riku, you’re not gonna _die_ -“

Riku cuts him off, feeling rude for doing so but needing to make his point clear.

“No. If he thinks I’m still _here_ he’ll only come looking for me. He needs to be focused until we can find his heart, and you _know_ he’ll only be distracted trying to find me.”

“Riku, don’t do this to Sora.”

“I have to. We have to find his heart. And I can’t do that with him dogging my steps every time he so much as _thinks_ he knows where I am.”

Mickey nods once in understanding. Riku smiles, almost wishing for one of the comforting hugs freely offered by Mickey at the beginning of this journey. But the past year has hardened him, and Riku has pushed Mickey away too many times to take comfort freely offered. Instead, he smiles tersely at the king, and turns on his heel to leave. He only walks several metres before he stops and turns.

“Why have you lied to Ventus?”

Mickey looks up with a false confusion on his face that Riku can see right through.

“Riku, I’ve only ever been honest with Ventus.“

“No, you haven’t. You know where his friends are, or at least you know where Aqua is. I knew the day we left Castle Oblivion. With all due respect, Your Majesty, you don’t lie nearly as well as you think you do.”

And guilt flashes across Mickey’s features, and Riku marvels at how well he can read Mickey from his face alone.

“Aqua is somewhere we can’t reach her. In the _real_ realm of darkness, behind the door. And you know the only other way in there besides the door is to let a world die. We can’t do that.” Mickey’s voice is hard, determined, and Riku nods.

“You should have told him. And Terra?”

“I have no idea where Terra is.”

“Ventus thinks he is Ansem the Wise’s apprentice, Xehanort.”

Something awfully close to realisation crosses Mickey’s features, and the mouse almost immediately seems to vibrate with surprise and revelation. He jolts a little, before he looks up at Riku.

“You may be right!” And then Mickey is gone, darting out of sight in a way only a mouse could ever do, and Riku finds he is not even surprised at his abrupt exit.

* * *

Ventus isn’t surprised in the _least_ that they arrive at The World that Never Was to find it fucking _pouring_ with rain.

Because he’s not wearing the coat, and really, when has the universe ever been on his side? It is cold and wet and he is soaked through in about fifteen seconds, and Riku is next to him trying to hold back a smirk as Ventus’ hair flattens with each passing moment.

 _Don’t wear the coat_ , he had said, _the noise will attract the heartless anyway,_ he had said.

 _It’s not going to fucking rain Ventus_ , he had said.

They might as well be fighting in Atlantica, he thinks with a bitter hiss.

They arrive too late to help Roxas with the heartless, though he has done a stellar job of defeating them anyway. Ventus’ heart drops into his stomach as he sees the younger boy wielding _two_ keyblades, and he casts a panicked look Riku’s way. The silveret is frowning, his eyes hard, and Ventus realises the battle is going ahead, even with the addition of another keyblade.

They wait. Roxas does not send his keyblades away, and they drip water as they hang by his sides. Ventus runs his hands through his hair, tries to give it more _volume_ so his face is visible, and steps out from the alley as Riku disappears to the top of Memory’s Skyscraper.

He waits, and Roxas drops the Oblivion keyblade as his eyes catch sight of Ventus.

“What the _hell?_ ”

The confusion radiates off of Roxas in waves, visible in the downward turn of his mouth that is all Ventus can see beneath the hood. In either anger or curiosity, the other blond rips back his hood and stares at Ventus outright. The similarities are even more terrifying up close, and Ventus realises that Roxas really _is_ a carbon copy of himself.

“Are you…” Roxas starts, uncertain, and takes a step closer with one hand almost reaching out to Ventus. In response, Ventus also takes a step closer. The Oblivion keyblade is roughly three metres away. “Are you my somebody?”

Ventus wishes that lying came as naturally to him as it comes to DiZ, whose secrets he knows but does not reveal he knows. He wishes he was as silver tongued and charming as Riku, who could throw out a _yes_ with alarming ease. He even wishes he were like Mickey, who lies with his mouth but not his eyes, who may be the one with the most secrets to hide and who keeps his every card held close to his little chest.

But he is neither of them, and Ventus instead cocks his head to the side and simply says, “no.”

Roxas’ frown deepens. Ventus’ eyes flicker up to the skyscraper.

“Then why do you look like me?”

“Technically, _you_ look like _me_.” The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them, and Ventus curses the amount of time he has spent with Riku. He’s _becoming_ him.

He takes another step closer, and Roxas holds his breath. It is a strange moment, and Ventus is counting the seconds, his right hand slack.

“Why are you here?” Roxas’ eyebrows furrow. “Why have you been following me?”

“Just so ya know, I’m really sorry about this.”

Alarm flashes across Roxas’ face, mixed with confusion and uncertainty. Ventus darts to his left as Roxas moves away to avoid a possible swing, but Ventus’ keyblade appears in his hand, and he hooks the end of it into the space between the stem of the Oblivion keyblade. With the same momentum, he swings it upwards and watches Riku catch it as he lands behind Roxas.

Roxas turns and, perhaps bewilderingly, focuses all of his attack on Riku.

The fight is long and brutal. The rain causes them to slip many times, but it masks the sounds of their keyblades clashing together. Roxas is brutal and unyielding, and whilst Ventus likely has the best chance of beating him head on, he can’t _do_ that because Roxas has focused almost the entirety of his attacks on Riku. He is confident and he is difficult to fight, because he does not even spare a moment on Ventus, knowing he is too quick for Ventus to even _hit_ with his keyblade.

Ventus daren’t shoot off any of his light magic, because he’s not entirely sure he won’t hit Riku in the process. He can see Riku fighting against the darkness that rises up in him, offering aid in what is a _gruelling_ battle, and Ventus feels utterly _useless_. He attacks where he can, light and quick, but more often than not he cannot tell _who_ his hits land on, and both men before him are faltering.

But the opportunity arises as lightning cracks the sky in two, as Riku is knocked to his feet but bounces back with a parry that sends Roxas flying. Ventus knows what is going to happen, knows what Riku’s greatest fear is just as he knows that Riku removing the blindfold signals _something_ is coming.

Roxas watches in alarm as the darkness begins to envelop Riku, and something in Ventus _lurches_. It is a visceral reaction, something that comes deep from the depths of the heart in his chest that does not belong to him. It is an urge to protect, to save, to _help_ Riku, and it claws its way out of his throat in an angry yell.

“No!” The spell comes naturally, as it always did once he had fully grasped it, but the power behind it is beyond anything Ventus has ever been capable of. He knows, deep down, knows that it is powered by the second heart in him that belongs to Sora, the force of two hearts strengthening the spell he had aptly named _Faith_.

The columns of light rise up from the ground, thick and more blinding than ever before. They rise tall, flooding the square with light that is _painful_ to Roxas and downright excruciating for Riku. The columns spin, a fury of light magic that generates its own wind, and Ventus marvels at his own power as he swings his keyblade and aims it at the sky. The magic flows around them, crackling at his ears and warming him to the bones, and he gives it a moment for the power to really _build_. It is strong, stronger than anything he has ever been able to conjure and volatile enough that he’s not completely sure it won’t discharge in an explosion and kill them all. The columns are spinning fast enough that it almost seems like he is trapped within a wall of light.

Ventus belatedly realises that the power from the light has completely dried his clothing and his hair, and he swallows thickly before he _pushes_ , and the spinning columns disperse with a deafening _boom_. All of the neon bulbs in the square burst at the impact, and It sends Roxas careening into the doorway at the entrance to the skyscraper. Riku falls to the floor, only seconds after his blindfold had landed on the floor.

The light disperses, and darkness swallows the square.

In the darkness, Riku’s eyes flash gold.

* * *

“Why are you helping me with this?” Riku asks, voice quiet in the stark white room. Sora’s pod is open, and the only sound is the heart-rate monitor beeping softly next to the computer. “You’ve already said multiple times that you don’t think this is fair.”

Ventus glances up at Sora. His resemblance to Vanitas is striking, though there has hardly been any time over the last year for him to really wonder _why_. He considers the question for a moment. He definitely does not agree with Riku’s plan. He thinks it is unfair: the choice should be Roxas’ and his alone, and he should not be forced into this.

Riku’s plan is destructive and painful for all involved: the silver-haired man has quite literally decided that _his_ opinion is the right one, and woe-betide anyone who gets in his way. He will happily destroy the life of Roxas, as well as doom Axel to endless pain. From what he has heard of Sora, he doesn’t think the brunet sleeping in his pod will agree with the plan either.

Hell, _Riku_ doesn’t even really agree with his own plan, but he will do anything to bring Sora back. Some days he is nearly half-crazed from the stress, but he will succeed at his task. Riku will watch the world burn before he lets Sora sleep a moment longer than necessary. He is a destructive force, destroying anything in his path in his belief that way is the _only_ way.

 “You’re right.” Ventus begins. “I think this plan of yours is wrong, _cruel_ , and I think that with a little bit more time you might be able to wake him up without Roxas. You’re siding with a man with some _severe_ empathy issues, but you just don’t give a damn. You’re ruining lives, and you don’t even care, because your world doesn’t extend past Sora.”

Riku’s expression doesn’t change at Ventus’ criticisms, because he already knows and agrees with him. Ventus sighs. “But I’m helping you anyway. Because if it was Aqua or Terra in that pod, I think I might just do the same. And I’m not even in _love_ with them, not in the way you are with Sora.”

Ventus glances back over at Riku. He is pale, the stress from the battle with Roxas taking a toll on his features. His hair is limp, his eyes nearly listless, but there is a raw power to him that thrums beneath his skin. The only remnants from the battle with Roxas exist in his eyes: they are a menacing yellow, so reminiscent of Xehanort and Vanitas. Riku _had_ given in and allowed the darkness in, but Ventus’ spell had managed to prevent Ansem from taking hold. He had gained the darkness, but not the form.

Riku had panicked about it for _hours_. Ventus had pointed out that it could have been worse, and narrowly avoided the piece of computer equipment Riku had chucked at his head.

The pod closes before them, set on a timer that seems pointless in its existence, but which nevertheless ensures no one leaves the pod on open view by accident. Riku turns to leave, unable to watch the metal petals obscuring Sora from view. Ventus looks up at him, feeling that strange lurch in his heart again that belongs to Sora.

Long fingers wrap around his bicep as Riku reaches out, his lips set in a wary frown. “There’s something else we need to talk about.”

* * *

_“What!”_

Ventus can’t help the high pitch of his voice, the shock and the disbelief at the plan that DiZ has laid out before him. It is madness, it is insanity wrapped up in a ball of stupidity and recklessness, and Ventus _actually_ thinks Riku’s plan to have him infiltrate the Organization’s headquarters was _less insane_.

This stupid idiotic plan that makes him cringe is awful and simple and so _easy_ to set up, but so _stupid_ to enact. DiZ proposes to send both Ventus and Roxas into the alternate Twilight Town. Once there, Roxas’ memories will be wiped and he will believe his name is Ventus. _Ventus_ will go in intact, but will assume the name of Roxas. If any Organization member manages to infiltrate the world, the time it would take to realise Roxas was actually _Ventus_ would be more than enough for Riku to get in and get the intruder _out_.

It’s ridiculous. It’s _brilliant_. It’s _insane_.

“This has got to be the most insane plan I have ever heard of.” Ventus says it without restraint, and Riku cocks his head in agreement.

“I told you he wouldn’t agree.”

“Wouldn’t agree? Of course I wouldn’t agree! This is stupid!” Ventus can feel his keyblade trying to form in his hand, his indignation rising with every patronising word that drips from DiZ’s mouth. To Ventus’ right, Roxas begins to stir from his place under the transfer beam.

“It’s the only way to make sure Roxas is safe.” Riku responds, and Ventus feels the fury rise within him like an ugly black cloud of rain.

“Safe? Like you give a damn! You don’t even believe he’s a real person!”

“He isn’t!”

Roxas watches the exchange with a blank stare on his face. Ventus scoffs.

“Oh come on, I know you’re lying. I saw the look on your face when he was unconscious, you feel guilty because you _know_ he has a heart, even if it doesn’t beat.”

Riku says nothing, though his gaze is hard and Ventus feels like he has toed a line. The gaze is unsettling in that piercing yellow.

Silence reigns between them for a minute or two, with the only movement being Roxas as he looks between them. He almost looks bored.

“Fine! But just so I’m clear, I’m going in there to protect him from _you two_ as well as the Organization.”

Beside them, Roxas sneers. Riku looks at him, one eyebrow raised.

“Something funny?”

“I don’t need protecting from the Organization. You’re better off keeping an eye on me to make sure _I_ don’t escape.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that will be a problem when we rewrite your memories.” Riku snipes back, and Roxas’ face falls. He remains there in stony silence.

“That was cruel.” Ventus says, tutting. DiZ laughs.

“If they even notice he is missing, they will come for him, but it will only be for the worth you have as a keyblade wielder. They don’t care for you, thirteen. They are incapable of doing so. Not to mention, they would need to find an entrance into where we are taking you, and that is no easy feat I assure you.”

“His friend might succeed, I wager.” Riku says, not unkindly. DiZ chuckles.

“His _friend_ is not capable of friendship, and so has no reason to come after him. I am not worried about one nobody.”

That’s pretty fucking stupid, Riku thinks privately, because _he_ sure is worried, and so is Ventus if his grimace is anything to go by.

And then to their surprise, Roxas _laughs_.

“If you think Axel doesn’t care enough to save me, then you’re already screwed. And if you think he won’t know where to find me, _he’s already here_.”

Ventus looks uneasy, but Riku smirks.

“You’ve got a lot of faith in a man who didn’t realise you were being kidnapped when you had _just_ finished talking with him.”

Ventus decides not to point out the fact that it was absolutely _pouring_ with rain, and therefore unlikely that the _man who wields fire_ would have stuck around in it.

Roxas opens his mouth, presumably to fire off another retort, but Ventus _loses_ it. He storms the three steps to the computer, leans over DiZ with no regard for personal space, and nearly punches the switch that begins the transfer.

Roxas sits there frozen, mouth half open, as the beam captures him and writes him up, rewrites him in a second and sends him disappearing from view into the alternate Twilight Town.

Within a second, Ventus himself is standing on the pad.

“Send me in before I change my mind.”

“You need a debrief-“

“I can just open a portal you _drama queen_ -“

DiZ and Riku speak at the same time, but the glare Ventus sends their way is so _Roxas_ that Riku only nods. DiZ resets the switch, and then flicks it. Ventus disappears, his disappointed gaze the last thing that Riku sees.

It’s a good plan, Riku thinks, because Ventus can already imitate Roxas _perfectly_.

* * *

Ventus opens his eyes to the full weight of Roxas landing on him, his eyes bright in a way that unnerves him deeply.

“C’mon, Roxas! Only seven days left of vacation. We need to get down to the usual spot!”

He sits up, confusion in his face. Had he not just been standing? And Roxas thinks he is called Ventus, and man is _that_ going to get confusing. Ventus forces himself to think of Roxas as himself, just so he doesn’t accidentally call him by the wrong name and raise any flags.

Beside him on the bed, Roxas looks out the window wistfully. Ventus frowns.

“Ven? What’s up?”

Roxas looks him in the eyes. Ventus finds himself getting confused already.

“I had another dream about him. The boy.”

Ventus frowns, wondering how many years of false memories DiZ has implanted into this boy. It must be years upon years, but somehow he thinks the dreams are an unknown addition. Roxas begins an explanation of the strange dreams, the boy he knows but does not remember, and Ventus becomes certain that Sora’s memories are suddenly leaking into Roxas.

Perhaps it’s the proximity to Sora’s body?

Ventus throws his legs over the side of the bed and rests his head in his hands.

This is going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

And yet to Ventus’ own surprise, things actually go rather smoothly for a time. The issue with the dusks is an easy enough one when the dusks go after _him_ rather than the real Roxas. There is a slight setback, when they return to their shared room at the end of the day when all of the photos have been returned, where Roxas accidentally summons a basic keyblade in the middle of the bedroom.

Ventus manages to solve that fairly quickly with a sleeping spell, and the next morning he manages to convince Roxas it was all a dream. Roxas confides in him about more strange dreams, and the day continues. It is strange, pretending to live a lie with three friends he has never met and a fake twin brother who is actually a nobody, but Ventus tries hard not to think on it too much lest it all muddle in his mind.

He _is_ a little put out after spending the whole day with Roxas delivering mail on skateboard, only for Riku to turn up and _steal_ the money pouch. He stands there at the steps of the train station, his lips in a furrow, when he spots Riku lifting Roxas by his shoulder and whispering to him, his right hand deftly picking his pocket. It’s so quick that Ventus nearly misses it, but Riku disappears on the wind before he can say anything.

* * *

“Is it really that hard to make a beach?”

Riku tosses the pouch of money between his hands. It is heavier than he expected it to be: Ventus and Roxas must have really worked for it. From his seat at the computer, DiZ looks back once at Riku’s sarcasm.

“We’d be giving the enemy another entry point.”

DiZ says it so confidently, as though there is only one entry point into the virtual Twilight Town. Riku knows differently: he’s already had to stop Axel _three times_ from burning his way through the barrier at different points around the town. He’s still got a burn on his left forearm from the last encounter.

“And this? You couldn’t have just made the train break down? You had to make me steal their money?” Riku pinches the drawstring tight in his fingers and swings the pouch around half-heartedly. DiZ looks at it briefly.

“We could always buy some sea-salt ice-cream.”

DiZ is a bit of a dick sometimes, Riku thinks. At his cruel laugh, Riku considers lobbing the heavy pouch at his heavily-bandaged head.

“Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world. You can delete that.”

Riku pockets it out of spite. Sora could probably do with a few thousand munny when he wakes up.

* * *

Riku becomes alerted to Ventus’ wish to briefly exit the town when he is on watch at the computer. As hard-hearted as DiZ likes to pretend he is, he does need to sleep, and so Riku is on watch.

He switches idly through the cameras, when he spots Ventus kicking at one of the doors outside the _house_ that DiZ put them in. Riku opens a portal, seeing it appear on the screen, and Ventus looks around in alarm before he steps through it.

He’s in the lab a second later, and he rounds on Riku.

“What the _hell_ was that stunt this afternoon? _Can you feel Sora_? What even was the _point_ of that?”

“Ventus, he’s been having dreams. Namine says the memories are slipping out of Sora into Roxas, I needed to confirm it.”

“And you couldn’t just _ask me_? Isn’t that why I’m in there?”

“Wait, you _knew?_ ”

“Of course I knew, haven’t you been paying attention?”

“You should have said something!” Riku is indignant as he speaks, but Ventus laughs.

“How would I do that? Look up into the sky and speak to you?”

Riku sighs heavily, and the argument continues in the same vein. Ventus argues that Riku is being a bully for no real reason, whilst Riku argues that he can’t just walk in and have _meetings_ with Ventus. It is the first real argument Ventus has ever had with Riku, and it only ends when both of them give up.

Ventus goes to sleep in a huff, wrapped up in his fake sheets in his fake bed with his fake twin on the other side of the room, and wonders when his life became _this_.

* * *

The third day is really when it goes to shit.

Roxas wakes up in the bed across from Ventus’ in a cold sweat, which prompts Ventus’ eyes to fly open on instinct. His heart drops into his stomach when he spots _Namine_ in the corner of the room at the same time Roxas does. Both boys gasp, but then the blonde witch disappears in an instant.

Roxas looks across at him in shock, but Ventus tries to play it off. It works briefly: they head into the town with not much on their minds, and Ventus turns away for _one fucking second._ It takes that second to realise that the town has submerged into silence, frozen completely, and he turns to find Namine standing in front of Roxas.

Ventus doesn’t really know what has gotten into her, other than the fact that she clearly has gone from a submissive servant of DiZ to a girl who just does not give a _shit_.

“I wanted to meet you Roxas, at least once.”

Ventus drops the Struggle poster in his hand to the floor, panic sending his heart racing because _no no no_ _Namine no-_

Roxas rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Oh! Er I’m sorry, I’m not Roxas. My brother there, _he’s_ Roxas. I’m Ventus.” Both of them look down the hill at Ventus, who is certain that the expression on his face must be a _picture_ of panic. He gives a strained smile, his hand raising pathetically in an unconvincing wave.

But Namine is no longer looking at Ventus, and even though Roxas is looking at him like he’s suddenly sprouted an extra head, she giggles.

“You’re Ventus, but you’re also Roxas. Don’t worry, you’ll understand it soon.”

And then Namine is gone again, literally disappearing into the wind as the surrounding sound switches back on. The sounds of the birds seem _too_ loud, the wind too fierce, but Roxas is there looking confused, and Ventus feels the need to say _something_.

“Wow, weird huh?”

“Roxas… I’m not going crazy, am I? She really stopped time there, didn’t she?”

“What? No, of course not!” Ventus laughs, although he knows it comes out nervously. “The market just went a little quiet, that’s all.”

Roxas looks at the floor though, his brows furrowed in confusion, and Ventus knows that things are about to go terribly wrong.

And they do, since Riku must be away somewhere on a mission, because when they enter the sandlot it is nearly overrun with _dusks_. A keyblade appears in Roxas’ hand, that same plain one from before, and the blond stands there and stares at it.

Ventus curses, but he knows what needs to be done. He cannot fight them off on his own.

“Ventus, use the keyblade!” And Roxas _does_ , he uses it brilliantly for a boy who has had his memories rewritten, and several of the dusks fall to his blade in a flurry of swings before he collapses on the floor.

Ventus looks at him, swears twice, and then does what he can to defeat the numerous dusks on his own. It takes a few dozen spells, and more than one rough swing of the keyblade, and halfway through Ventus sees everyone around him freeze in mid-fight. He _knows_ that means that someone has stopped the town, prevented the simulated townspeople from seeing _too_ much, but he has no idea who.

He sits there in the sandlot for several hours, watching over the unconscious Roxas. He knows that look on his face, the serene relaxed features that tell him Roxas has been pushed into a dive to the heart.

It is all the more proof to Ventus that Roxas actually _has_ a heart, for how else can he enter a dive unless his mind is at odd with his heart?

He wonders what the station looks like. Ventus can barely remember his own. He knows it was cracked at some point, all the lights broken, but he cannot _remember_ seeing it as such. Does Roxas’ station depict himself, with Axel and the other members of the Organization? Or does it depict Sora and his friends?

Ventus nearly has a heart attack when Roxas disappears into a dark portal.

* * *

Of course, Roxas is not in any danger, as Riku explains when he drags an unconscious Roxas back through the portal ten minutes later and lays him on the floor. Ventus throws a struggle bat next to him, and Riku looks up.

He’s got the blindfold on again, he notices.

“Namine take him?”

Riku sighs in exasperation.

“ _Yes_.”

“What’s going on with her?”

A shrug is his response.

“Who knows. Normally I’d be _thrilled_ she grew a spine, but now is _really_ not the time.”

* * *

Ventus sits on the benches as Roxas enters the struggle. The morning starts out _fine_. The fuss from the day before is forgotten, attributed to the increasingly strange dreams Roxas is churning out. It all seems to be going well, _too_ well, when Ventus notices the fight with Vivi is too strange, too _off_.

In the split second between Vivi’s data simulation turning into the dusk, and the appearance of several more dusks, Ventus manages to get up onto the stage and swap places with Roxas. His ‘twin’ takes one look at the keyblade and widens his eyes, before he obeys Ventus’ command to get out of the sandlot.

Of course, Roxas has no intention of running away, and he stays just out of sight of Ventus as the latter gets rid of the dusks. The world does not right itself, however, and the sound of clapping fills his ears.

“Roxas! Alright, fight fight _fight_.”

Ventus feels his heart cinch a little painfully, because he feels so _terrible_ for Axel, and this meeting is not going to be easy. He frowns in the best imitation of Roxas he can muster, and keeps his mouth shut.

“You really _don’t_ remember? It’s me, Axel.”

Ventus can’t lie, not really, but he tries his hardest to do so.

“You’re wrong, Axel. I _do_ remember.”

It takes a moment for Axel to process this. His face goes from a façade of cocky bravado to an expression of anticipation, before confusion sets in and those smirking lips turn down into a frown.

“Wait, you do? Wait, let me just make sure: what’s our bosses name?”

Ventus nearly bites his lip to prevent himself from saying _Terra_. “Xemnas.”

“Right!” The expression of excitement appears and then slips away again. “Wait, if you remember, why are you _here?_ Playing pretend while that madman tries to revive a corpse?”

“I need to save Sora.”

“ _Sora? Fuck_ Sora. If you come back to the Organization, they won’t punish you. C’mon, Roxas, you know they’ll just destroy you.”

“No, Axel. My mind’s made up.” Ventus tries to think, tries to remember why Roxas had left the Organization. Axel stares at him as though he has lost his mind, though Ventus realises that even so Axel doesn’t look _surprised_.

“They’ll turn you into a dusk!”

“I don’t care.” Ventus snaps, hoping it is believable. Axel groans through his teeth.

 “Roxas, _please_ , come home.” And Axel’s plea is so sincere that Ventus is practically hopping right on the doubt train and riding it the _hell_ out of Twilight Town, because how is it possible that this man has no heart? DiZ’s voice rings in his mind, _it is all an act_ , but Ventus isn’t so sure.

“No, Axel. I need to re-join with Sora, it’s the only way to save the worlds.”

Axel takes a step forward, eyebrows furrowed, but the downward twist of his lips is heart-breaking.

“You don’t believe that, Roxas. You _can’t_ believe that! Don’t believe what they’re saying to you, you have a _right_ to exist just as much as they do.” Ventus could almost flinch, because he wholeheartedly agrees with Axel to the point where he is almost giving himself away. It is equally difficult, because Axel’s words are clearly coming from his heart, whether it beats in his chest or not.

“That might be true Axel, but it has to be Sora. We need him.” If Axel finds that line suspicious, he does not call Ventus out on it, still believing him to be Roxas. Ventus can feel his palms getting clammy, and he feels _terrible_ because all of this? This was not in the job description. Axel might not have a physical heart, but this whole situation is clearly killing him, and Ventus feels _wrong_ pretending to be Roxas in this situation.

“Roxas, _come on_. You said you didn’t think anyone would miss you. I would. I _do_. Come back and we can _fix_ this, damnit! Xemnas will be so thrilled he’s got your keyblade back he won’t give a shit about you leaving.” And that makes Ventus feel even worse, because these words should have been for _Roxas_ , not him, and-

Axel’s gaze switches from Ventus to the benches behind them, and Ventus knows immediately that he’s going to find Roxas there listening in. He turns, and finds exactly that.

“Ventus, _get away_. I can deal with this by myself!” He hopes it sounds like a Roxas-enough answer, because all the real Roxas needs to do is open his mouth, and Ventus knows the game will be up. Roxas frowns at him, looking between the real Ventus and Axel, and frowns.

“Roxas? Who is this man?”

_Aw, damn._

Axel looks between them, from the stubborn determination of the one he thinks is Roxas, to the total confusion of the one he thinks is Ventus, and the truth clicks. He smirks, because if he doesn’t he thinks he might scream.

“Oh you sneaky, _sly_ little shit. I gotta respect that, you almost had me fooled.” And Ventus _did_. He had no idea, no single _inkling_ , that DiZ would have swapped them in the simulated town. He had no reason to suspect it, no reason to believe that the ‘Roxas’ standing before him with only one keyblade, refusing to return with him, could have really been Ventus.

If they had remade Roxas’ memories with some hint of Axel, he would likely not have noticed. But Axel _knows_ that Ventus knows who he is, and he knows that Riku would not have changed Ventus’ own memories, and so he knows without a shadow of a doubt that the Ventus who looks at him with confusion behind bright blue eyes is actually _Roxas._

“You shouldn’t have wiped me from his memories.” Axel says, his eyes lifting from the real Roxas to Ventus.

Ventus laughs nervously.

“It’s a learning curve?”

Roxas steps up onto the struggle stage, his keyblade having appeared in his hand. He looks at Ventus, who looks both guilty and wary, on edge and hovering close, and then at the newcomer _Axel_. He says the word in his mouth, but it evokes no memory, no flashes of images. Only a vague sense of nostalgia and sadness that he can’t quite place.

“Will somebody tell me what’s going _on_?” He looks at Axel. “I’m _Ventus_.”

Axel barks out a laugh.

“Yeah sure kid. ‘Cept you’re not, you’re _Roxas_. And you’re coming with me.”

Ventus blinks twice, and _yep_ sure enough the chakrams are present, and there is a heat coming off of Axel that he can feel even from his distance three metres away. He had been hoping he wouldn’t need to fight Axel, not when he controls _fire_.

But besides him, Roxas shows no sign of recognition in his face, and if anything he looks even angrier at _Axel_. He spares no glance to Ventus, and that makes Ventus feel _awful_. It’s one thing for Roxas to trust him even though he kidnapped him, but quite another for that trust to trump over his best friend.

This time, when Roxas cracks and begins shouting out the names of his friends - _Hayner, Pence, Olette, Roxas, wrong-_ Ventus makes a decision of his own.

The safety measure for the alternate town kicks in, and as time unfreezes Ventus sees Axel blink out of existence.

* * *

“Roxas, will you tell me what’s going on!” Roxas’ voice shatters the peaceful silence on the upper floor of the house, and Ventus runs a hand through his hair in dread.

He’d known this argument was coming, and in hindsight he should have expected it the minute they left the sandlot. The presence of Hayner, Pence and Olette might have afforded him a temporary reprieve, but Roxas physically falling off the edge of the tower, making contact with _Kairi_ of all people, and waking up in his bed across from Ventus, is obviously a much larger marker that some dodgy shit is going on.

“We’re in our room, and you’re shouting at me.” Ventus tries, looking across the room at the now-awake Roxas.

The other man gives a half-groan, half-shriek, and he grits his teeth together tightly enough that Ventus can see his jaw click.

“Come on, Roxas, don’t play dumb with me! What happened in the sandlot, you _knew_ that man.”

Ventus tries stalling.

“Well, I mean, I don’t really _know_ him, I just knew his name. Some biker kid, or-“

“No, not only that! The dreams, the weird dreams I’ve been having which you _never_ seem surprised about. And, and the woman who froze time the day before yesterday, you _knew_ her too! And _this fucking thing_ -“ With a flourish of his hand Roxas summons the keyblade. “What the heck is this?”

Ventus darts up from his seat on the bed, both hands held out before him. “Whoa! Put the keyblade down before you hurt one of us.”

“So you know what it is? Roxas, tell me what’s going on!”

For his part, Ventus bites his lip even as Roxas frowns in frustration. The truth is practically out of the bag already, but Ventus still daren’t defy DiZ outright.

“Look, Ventus, will you just sit down? I’ll tell you, just sit down and get rid of that thing.” He motions to the keyblade, and Roxas frowns.

“I don’t know how.”

“Just put it on the floor, it’ll go away.”

“How do you know that-!”

“Shut up!” Ventus rubs at his eyes, emotionally exhausted and unwilling to lie anymore but _knowing_ he must for the greater fucking good.

“Listen, Ventus. The man in the sandlot, he used to be a friend of ours. But he works for some strange people, and we don’t know if we can trust him.”

“And the girl in the dress?”

“Also a friend. She means you no harm.”

Roxas slumps on the bed.

“Yeah, but who _is_ she?”

Ventus shakes his head.

“I can’t tell you that.” And he can’t, not really, not without giving away anything else. “I also can’t tell you what that keyblade is other than that it _is_ a keyblade.”

“That’s original.” Roxas mutters darkly under his breath, and Ventus laughs.

“And for the dreams, Ventus, I really _don’t_ know what they are or why you’re having them.”

Ventus can feel Roxas’ anger rising within him, the first real glimpse of that temper he had displayed over the year Ventus spent observing him.

Roxas picks up the keyblade smoothly, and without warning he throws it at Ventus. He catches it perfectly, and to his own surprise the key does not disappear. It stays in his hand, glinting in the light of the room, until he dismisses it. Roxas kicks the corner of the bed in frustration, and throws himself down onto it.

“Ventus-“

“Piss off.” Roxas turns over, and the room descends into an angry silence.

Ventus doesn’t get much sleep that night, too caught up on how _wrong_ this whole situation is getting. Across from him, neither does Roxas.

* * *

Ventus, in the middle of a moral crisis so deep he cannot find his way back out of the maze he has led himself into, chooses to decline spending the day with Roxas and the others as they go on their ghost hunt. He fobs it off with the excuse of working on the homework assignment, something the fake Olette gives him a bright smile over.

He spends it in the fake town’s mansion, as Riku watches Roxas from the computers. He spends a lot of the day in the white room, looking at Namine’s drawings and trying to make sense of them. A lot of what is going on is a mystery to him even now, and her artwork serves to help him visualise many of the events prior to his awakening.

Of course, Namine herself sneaks into the room after several hours. He watches her as she slips in and tries to close the door quietly, oblivious to his presence. She turns, spots him, and leans back against the door without a single expression on her face.

“Are you going to stop me?”

Ventus sighs. “No.”

Namine’s smile is warm and trusting, and makes Ventus feel better about his actions as he begins to hear the sound of voices outside.

“They say you can see a girl in white in the upper window…” Pence is clearly trying to add drama to his words, but Ventus only snorts whilst Namine moves over to the window.

Namine opens the portal to darkness with an ease he had not known she possessed, and time pauses around them at the use of her magic. It is a simple matter of pulling Roxas through the portal and closing it behind him, before Namine deftly moves her hands. Time starts again, and Roxas stares around the room in awe.

He studies the pictures on the walls with his lips slightly parted, and Ventus takes note of the fact that he doesn’t even blink twice at the sudden change of surroundings.

“Is this…me? And Axel?” He says aloud, oblivious to their presence. Namine clears her throat.

“You are best friends.”

“Very funny.”

“Roxas, don’t you want to know the truth? About who you _really_ are?” At those words, he looks up from the drawing he is studying so carefully, and his eyes settle on Ventus stood next to Namine. He hovers for a moment, words on the tip of his tongue and his eyes wide as he takes in the downcast look on Ventus’ face.

“My name isn’t Ventus, is it?”

For his part, Ventus truly does feel extremely guilty as he shakes his head. “My name is Ventus. Your name is Roxas.”

Roxas opens his mouth to respond to it, to say _something_ , but nothing comes out. He’s not sure how to respond. Namine steps closer instead, leading him over to some drawings on the far wall.

“You know who these three are, don’t you?”

Roxas nods.

“Yeah, they’re those guys from my dreams. Sora, Donald, and Goofy.”

“About a year ago, something strange happened. I don’t even know, not really, but Sora had to open his heart to save his friend. That process…turned him into a heartless, but his heart was so strong that it also created a nobody.” Ventus begins, trying to simplify something even he doesn’t really understand. “And that nobody is you.”

Namine nods in agreement. “After that, some things happened, and I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora’s heart. I’ve been putting them back together exactly the way they were, but it’s difficult. Pretty soon, he will be his old self again. The process has been affecting you too, Roxas. It’s why you have been having the dreams.”

Ventus leans heavily against the white table in the centre of the room, trying to wrap his head around everything. Roxas is taking it in stride, as though it _isn’t_ a completely insane reason for a couple of weird dreams.

“You and Sora are connected. You hold half of who he is.” Ventus’ expression is one of questioning, but Namine smiles even as she looks at Roxas.

“In order for Sora to be completely whole again, he needs you.”

There’s something strange in Roxas’ face, like a look of acceptance mixed in with a healthy dose of _what the hell is going on_. He moves over to the table and sits down, before he looks across at the two of them. Namine matches him, taking a seat herself on the opposite edge of the table.

“Namine, Ventus, who _are_ you?” Roxas’ hands move from the table to his legs, trying to stop the nervous jittering of them under the table. Ventus sighs.

“I’m a keyblade wielder who fell into a deep sleep eleven years ago. I don’t know why, and I don’t know how, but I was awakened in time to come across Riku, Sora’s best friend. I’ve been helping Riku and Namine since.”

“So we’re not brothers?”

Ventus shakes his head in the negative, and Roxas frowns. “So then why do we look alike?”

“We don’t know.”

Roxas does not seem satisfied by the answer, but he turns to Namine with an expectant look on his face. She smiles warmly.

“I’m a witch with power over Sora’s memories.”

“A _witch?_ ” Roxas blurts out, and Ventus laughs.

“Everything you’ve seen, and that surprises you?” The response that Ventus gets is an eye-roll, but Namine keeps that soft smile anyway.

“That’s what DiZ called me.” Ventus mutters something under his breath that sounds a lot like _yeah and I’ve got a few choice names for him_ , but Roxas doesn’t quite catch it and Namine tactfully ignores it. “I don’t know why I have this power, but I do. And I don’t even think there’s a right way to use it.”

“I can’t help you answer that.” Roxas says, pausing. “Suddenly, I don’t feel like I know myself at all. What can you tell me that I don’t know?”

Ventus cringes at that, and when Roxas turns to look at him curiously, he closes his eyes in guilt.

“That’s because we erased your memories and implanted false ones.”

“Roxas, you were never supposed to exist.” Namine cuts in after Ventus finishes speaking, because there is a look of anger blooming across Roxas’ paled cheeks. Her words are not soothing, however, and Roxas focuses his dirty look onto her.

“What! How can you even say that? Even if it were true?” He sounds both disappointed and betrayed, and silence descends on them harder than a guillotine on the block.

The strength of spirit in Namine falters then, in the face of Roxas’ emotions. It is visible in the way her shoulders sink just the tiniest bit, in how her warm smile turns wan and strained. She blinks twice, before she ducks her head.

“I’m sorry… I guess, sometimes, some things really _are_ better off left unsaid.”

She leaves abruptly, smooth in her actions, but Ventus can see her shaking is barely controlled, and he feels sad that this sudden burst of confidence is faltering. He lets her go, and the world around them remains frozen.

“We should head outside.” Ventus says to Roxas, his eyes on the floor where Namine had disappeared through the portal. Roxas nods stiffly, his eyes dulled.

“I hate to say it, but for your safety, we really should stick to our names.”

* * *

“Why did you show him the train?”

DiZ is sat in the armchair as though he’s some sort of stereotypical movie villain, and Riku wonders if he could tame a dusk long enough to command it to sit in DiZ’s lap. He’s so involved in that daydream that he nearly misses DiZ’s response.

“Because he missed the trip to the beach.”

 _Oh, how generous of you_ , Riku thinks, irritated already. “That’s almost kind of you.” _You dick_.

“Now, what about you? Are the holes in your memory starting to fill in?”

Riku doesn’t mention that Namine had never meddled with his memories to begin with. There had been no need; his bond to Sora was strong enough that he had retained the _right_ memories even with all of her meddling in Sora’s heart back in Castle Oblivion. Riku’s memories of Sora are as clear as they were a year ago.

Sometimes, he wishes they weren’t, because he’s not sure how many times he can dream of Sora transforming into Ansem before he goes insane.

“Yes, the haze is clearing.”

There is no haze to clear, but as DiZ continues on talking as though he is aware of everything that is going on, Riku wonders if Ventus is _right_.

“We must dispose of Namine.” Riku feels his heart coming to a stop, because that has _got_ to be a joke. A bad prank, or a jest made in poor taste, because DiZ must be out of his fucking _mind_. “She did a fine job with Sora, but it’s high time she disappeared. Roxas is not the only one who was never meant to exist.”

Riku clenches his fists, and realises he has been gritting his teeth.

“She’s a child!”

Even beneath the bandages, Riku can see an eyebrow raise.

“She’s just a nobody. You’ve been killing thousands of the less intelligent ones. Take care of it.”

But Riku shakes his head: with the blindfold on, his hard stare is not visible to DiZ, but he’s certain he is radiating enough waves of fury and disgust that the older man will detect it.

“I have no intention of ever going that far.”

* * *

Roxas wakes on the sixth day covered in sweat, his breathing laboured as though he has run a dozen miles. Ventus, already awake, cocks his head to the side.

“Another dream?”

“I remember you taking me.”

Ventus winces.

“Sorry about that.”

Roxas makes a rude hand gesture, and turns over.

* * *

They realise that something is not quite right the moment they enter the usual spot.

The curtain hangs a little oddly, like the overlay between fake town and real town is merging. It is strange to look at, a glitch in real life that doesn’t look _real_.

Roxas walks forward, a false smile plastered on his face as Ventus keeps looking at the curtain, trying to figure out what is going on with it.

“Man, we could _not_ sleep last night. Guys?” Roxas puts his hand right through Hayner’s chest, and recoils back with a shout. Ventus turns in a panic, keyblade appearing in hand.

“What’s going on?” He asks, but Roxas is staring at the laughing but _silent_ trio in front of him.

“Huh?”

Ventus can’t respond to the noise Roxas makes, and instead watches in something akin to horror as the three run _through_ Roxas and out the usual spot.

“The towns are crossing over.”

“What?”

But Ventus shakes his head in a panic, and leans over to grab Roxas’ wrist. He holds onto it tightly, truly fearful for the first time in a _long_ time.

“We need to get to the mansion.”

He drags Roxas with him through the curtain, his grip unyielding, but they are stopped by Axel outside. He looks _off_ , as though there is a deep sadness within him.

“Look at what it’s come to. I’ve been given these icky orders to destroy you, if you refuse to come back with me.”

Ventus pushes Roxas behind him, the keyblade ready in his hands. It nearly vibrates with power, so eager it is to be put to use.

“You’re not having him.”

Axel _laughs_.

“Oh, cute. I don’t mean _only_ Roxas. Big boss wants both of you.”

Roxas steps out from behind Ventus as the other teenager falters, because he _knows_ that ‘big boss’ holds some part of Terra.

“We’re best friends, right?”

Axel’s reaction is immediate.

“You remember now?” And he is grinning, excitement clear in his voice. “Well, what number am I in the Organization?”

Roxas falters in the face of Axel’s charming smile, and the hesitation tells Axel that he is lying. The keyblade appears in Roxas’ hand, and Ventus wonders if he’ll be any use without his memories.

The flames start, flickering along the hem of Axel’s coat, but before the redhead can so much as summon his weapons the world shudders to a halt. They are left there, their keyblades raised in the air before them, but Axel doesn’t so much as blink.

Ventus doesn’t wait for a confirmation: he grabs Roxas again, and all but drags him towards the mansion.

* * *

More and more of Roxas’ memories come back to him as they travel through the mansion.

They find Namine in the white room, sitting at the table in a slightly skittish way, as though she expects an intrusion. Roxas looks at the drawings around them.

“Organization XIII are a _bad_ group. Why was I involved with them?”

“Bad, or good, we don’t know. They’re a group of incomplete people wishing to be whole again.”

“And if I become one with Sora? I spent all night trying to pretend I didn’t care, but it’s the question I really wanna ask. What’s gonna happen to me now?”

Ventus wishes he had an answer for that. He’s not even sure what will happen. Namine is silent, and they both look over at her expecting an answer, but as with the curtain there is something _wrong_ with her. She is flickering in and out of existence, her image pixelated and out of focus, her mouth half open in response.

“Namine?” Ventus asks, concerned, but the witch disappears completely only to be replaced by DiZ.

“There’s no knowledge that has the power to change your fate.” DiZ’s voice booms in the room that is only ever occupied by quiet conversation, and Roxas’ face goes from confused to furious in half a second.

“Funny, cause that’s not what I asked. I wanna know, I have the _right_ to know.”

“A nobody doesn’t have the _right_ to anything. You don’t even have the right to exist.”

From his spot near the fireplace, Ventus stands upright and shakes his head.

“Oh come on DiZ, just tell him! He has a right to know, seeing as without him you won’t be able to wake up Sora.”

Before DiZ can respond, Riku appears, blindfolded and panting with his whole body tensed in urgency.

“DiZ, Ventus, we’re out of time. Too many nobodies!”

As Riku speaks, another dark portal opens, and Ventus finds himself struggling to keep track of the action as Namine walks through it. He’s stuck, torn between getting closer to Roxas to protect him, or getting closer to Namine to keep her safe.

“Roxas, nobodies like us are only half a person. You’ll be _whole_. You won’t disappear!”

“I’ll disappear?!” Roxas’ voice is wild and full of terror, and Ventus could roll his eyes again because _wasn’t he listening?_

“No further outbursts!” DiZ is all rage and anger as he steps closer to Namine, and Ventus makes his split decision. His keyblade is already summoned, but he holds it out towards DiZ and shakes his head.

“No, thank you. You can take a step back.”

Roxas darts forwards to help, but Riku is far taller and _much_ more filled out, and so when he blocks Roxas from advancing the younger blond does not push past.

“No, you won’t disappear! You’ll be whole!” She steps forward, Ventus standing steady between her and DiZ, and the latter turns to Riku.

“Stop this!”

But to Ventus’ surprise, and perhaps even to Namine’s, Riku slowly shakes his head.

“I won’t turn on you, DiZ. But I won’t raise my keyblade against Ventus either.”

DiZ does not react outwardly: he retreats through a dark portal with his golden eyes narrowed, and Riku moves to follow.

“I hope you two know what you’re doing.”

* * *

It ends as it began, with Namine standing before the pod and two people with ties to Sora standing behind her.

It is a heart-breaking moment to be sure. Roxas, already shaken up by the full return of his mind and the fight with Axel, is scarcely in the frame of mind to properly process the end of his existence, but he pushes on nevertheless.

They don’t encounter anyone between Axel and the pod, and as Roxas approaches it the petals begin to open out. The room vibrates with the sound of the gears grinding, and Roxas is staring at it in fear and in awe.

When it finally opens, it dawns on Ventus that perhaps they should have ordered new clothes for Sora, but Roxas pays no notice as he stares up at his somebody.

Ventus can’t even begin to understand how he feels. What must it be like, he thinks, to be looking at someone _knowing_ they are half of you, that you were born from them and must now return? Sora is sleeping peacefully, and he looks so unthreatening that it’s almost funny to imagine him as the harbinger of the end of Roxas’ existence.

Ventus forces himself to think that it is for the best, lest the catch in his throat turn into a sob. He reaches out to place a gentle hand on Roxas’ shoulder as Namine takes his hand in her own, her grasp comforting and grounding even as Roxas slumps.

“Sora…” There is a smile on his lips, a fond but sad one, and Ventus squeezes his shoulder. “Looks like my summer vacation is over.”

The process of Roxas re-joining Sora is both brilliant and terrifyingly sad. Roxas is there one moment, a solid form and being, a _person_ , and the next he disintegrates like a sand castle in high tide. He disperses into a million pieces, which head towards Sora in a scene reminiscent of how the data changed form in the alternate town.

As Roxas disappears, Namine looks up at it sadly before she moves to the computer. The glass screen between Sora and the real world makes a cracking sound, and Ventus can hear the sound of water draining out of the pod and rushing down through the pipes.

Namine returns to his side, her smile warm. She holds her notebook over her chest, her arms crossing over the front of it. Her whole appearance is stronger, as though knowing she has a friend against DiZ has emboldened her. It’s a nice change.

“Where do we go now?”

Ventus grins, his lips quirked up cockily. “Riku will have left DiZ by now, I should think. He’ll know.”

Namine nods, her whole body moving as she thinks on his words. The pod before them starts to beep, the sound of the rushing water disappearing almost completely. When Namine speaks, her voice is shaky.

“He’ll be awake in no more than twenty minutes.”

Ventus nods, relieved that their task has finished, and Namine stands close enough to him that the heat from his arms warm her own. “He was kind to me, even without a heart. But he didn’t want to remember me.” Her eyes fall to the floor, and Ventus gives her a look of sympathy.

“It’s not because he didn’t care. If he could have, he would have chosen to remember you along with the others, but he couldn’t live a life knowing all of his friends had forgotten him. Even the keyblade's chosen ones can be a little selfish.”

Namine inclines her head in agreement, though Ventus sees her fingers tighten on the notepad. There’s likely only minutes left until Donald and Goofy wake up from their pods and enter the room. They go to leave, Namine creating the dark portal easily, and Ventus casts one last look at the sleeping teenager.

There’s a question he wants to ask, a truth he has kept hidden from Riku but which he _knows_ Namine knows. It’s an unspoken truth that has hovered between them for nearly a year, but Ventus has never dared ask lest Riku find out the truth in the middle of his mad plans to save Sora.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t give him back his heart?”

But the witch shakes her head, her hair falling in front of her shoulders.

“No. Sora isn’t ready for it, not yet.”


End file.
